Image © Christie’s images limited
A highlight of Christie’s sale of Old Master paintings in Paris on June 12 will be this still-life by Jean Simeon Chardin (1699- 1779), a master of the genre. Le melon entamé, a 22 x 20in (57 x 52cm) oval oil on canvas depicting fruit prominently featuring a large melon with a slice removed, was painted in 1760 and shown at the Salon the following year.
It was displayed alongside its pendant, Le bocal d’abricots (now in the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto), and Le Panier de fraises des bois, sold at auction in March 2022 at Artcurial for a hammer price of €20.5m (see ATG No 2536) and now in the Louvre.