Skip to main content

Jean-Siméon Chardin, 'The Young Schoolmistress', about 1737

Key facts
Full title The Young Schoolmistress
Artist Jean-Siméon Chardin
Artist dates 1699 - 1779
Date made about 1737
Medium and support oil on canvas
Dimensions 61.6 × 66.7 cm
Inscription summary Signed
Acquisition credit Bequeathed by Mrs Edith Cragg, as part of the John Webb Bequest, 1925
Inventory number NG4077
Location Room 35
Collection Main Collection
The Young Schoolmistress
Jean-Siméon Chardin
/

A young child is being taught by an older girl, perhaps in her early teens, who is possibly an elder sister or another relation such as a cousin. Despite the picture’s title, this is a private lesson, probably taking place at home rather than at school. The younger child is most likely a boy, although we cannot be entirely sure.

The children appear to be from a middle-class family, which is well provided for but not ostentatiously wealthy. They belong, perhaps, to the growing French bourgeoisie that particularly admired Chardin’s pictures, which they often knew and owned as engravings of the original paintings. This class particularly valued education, especially literacy, which was no longer confined to the nobility and professional classes.

Although Chardin is extolling work and study over playful time-wasting, any moralising purpose to his painting is very understated. Instead, his attention is on a quiet moment of interaction between two individuals.

Download image
Download low-resolution image

Download a low-resolution copy of this image for personal use.

License this image

License and download a high-resolution image for reproductions up to A3 size from the National Gallery Picture Library.

License image
Download low-resolution image

This image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement.

Examples of non-commercial use are:

  • Research, private study, or for internal circulation within an educational organisation (such as a school, college or university)
  • Non-profit publications, personal websites, blogs, and social media

The image file is 800 pixels on the longest side.

As a charity, we depend upon the generosity of individuals to ensure the collection continues to engage and inspire. Help keep us free by making a donation today.

Download low-resolution image

You must agree to the Creative Commons terms and conditions to download this image.

Creative Commons Logo