L'hiver, à l'imitation de bas-relief d'après Edmé Bouchardon

Winter appears as a bas-relief after the sculptor Edmé Bouchardon in this late work from 1776, one of Chardin's final paintings before failing eyesight ended his career. Chardin's turn to pastel in his last years was forced by his inability to continue in oils, and paintings like this from the mid-1770s represent his last sustained engagement with the medium that had made his reputation. The trompe l'oeil rendering of sculpture within painting created a dialogue between the sister arts.

Chardin renders the sculpted relief with the careful attention to surface and light that characterizes all his work, the stone's texture and the subtle shadows of carved forms achieved through his characteristic layered technique. The late handling shows some broadening compared to his earlier precision, but the essential sensitivity to surface remains undiminished.