BECOME A PATRON!

Basket of Strawberries is the last masterpiece by Jean Siméon Chardin to remain in private hands. This delicious and poetic painting, unique among the painter’s works, is in danger of leaving France if it does not enter the national collections.

Play

The Musée du Louvre invites you to participate in acquiring Jean Siméon Chardin’s Basket of Strawberries, an emblematic painting by the master of the still life. Together, let us make this acquisition possible and hang the missing Chardin on the wall of the Musée du Louvre!

A DELICIOUS AND POETIC MASTERPIECE

In the summer of 1761, Jean Siméon Chardin exhibited in the Salon Carré of the Musée du Louvre a composition centred on a Basket of Strawberries. It was one of the masterpieces and one of the last still lifes by the famous painter, then at the height of a brllliant career which had earned him a pan-European reputation and prestigious royal commissions.

Superbly spare and structured, Basket of Strawberries stands apart from the ‘beautiful disorder’ of Chardin’s other paintings of the period. The transparency of the light, magnificently diffused by the glass of water, and the dazzling brilliance of the red-and-white harmony formed by the pyramid of strawberries and the graceful, casually strewn carnations are unique in Chardin’s work.

Admired by Denis Diderot and his contemporaries, Basket of Strawberries also attracted the attention of the Goncourt brothers (1863): ‘Look at those two carnations: mere chips of white and blue, a scattering of silvery accents in relief; step back a little; the flowers rise from the canvas the further you draw away [...]. And that is the miracle of the things Chardin paints: modelled in the mass and the surrounding of their contours, drawn with their light, made, so to speak, of the soul of their colour, they seem to detach themselves from the canvas and come to life, by I know not what marvellous optical operation, between the canvas and the viewer in space.’

THE MISSING CHARDIN

Basket of Strawberries is one of Chardin’s most important works. Designated a National Treasure of France, this painting is in danger of leaving the country if it does not enter the national collections. That is why the Louvre is calling upon the generosity of each and every one of us to finance its acquisition.

Thanks to the exceptional generosity of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton and the support of the Société des Amis du Louvre, the acquisition, valued at €24,400,000, is already in large part financed.

We have until 28 February 2024 to collect the remaining €1,300,000 and allow Basket of Strawberries to enter the national collections. Every donation counts towards our being able, together, to hang the missing Chardin in the museum!

THE MASTER OF THE STILL LIFE

’Chardin is a man of intelligence, and perhaps no one speaks better than he of painting. [...] he understands the magic of colours. He has deployed this magic in some other compositions, where draftsmanship, invention and extreme truth, so many qualities united, make his pieces highly valued’, Denis Diderot, Salon of 1761

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP THIS PAINTING IN FRANCE

COMPANIES

If your company is taxable in France, it is eligible for a 60% tax deduction on the amount donated.

CONTACT

Ophélie Rodier

ophelie.rodier@louvre.fr

01 40 20 51 97

BENEFIT FORM A TAX DEDUCTION

Tax deduction applicable to French tax residents only: 66% of the amount donated is tax-deductible, up to a limit of 20% of taxable income.

To learn more, send us an email at tousmecenes@louvre.fr or call us at +33(0)1 40 20 67 67.

YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT DONATING

See the FAQ section for information about the campaign.