“From a glass of soapy water, a young man blows a bubble, its iridescent, translucent surface caught in the sunlight. A child peers eagerly over the ledge without breaking the atmosphere of silent concentration.” (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)
As an art teacher, in part to acknowledge my possible failings of objectivity concerning the subject, I have expressed to classes I am an art lover. It occurred to me that this was a needed piece for my students to know. Long ago, when I lived in Manhattan, I wrestled with many things about art. Culturally, as a manifestation of theories about art, I received that painting was dead. I realized something—some people don’t care about painting, or just don’t have the time. It helped me to know that painting was a place I could live.
Chardin’s painting is one of my favorites, a love. Many times I viewed it in person with adoration. The composition captures much about boys—curiosities, experiments and relationships. There is gentleness and joy. The way the smaller child looks on is a language that only painting can achieve. The steady hand of the older boy, with his quiet attention and focus, fills one with admiration for his leadership. One thinks of the way older siblings can amaze with actions, deeds, demonstrations, and mishap. Older siblings show pathways by example.
The tonality of the painting is limited. The green and brown tones harmonize with the reds of the central character. The right hand gripping the straw, the straw, and the bubble—-masterful. It is so hard to paint something like a bubble and to make a hand seem present while performing a distinct task. The foreshortened face, in shadow, achieves our attention as well, we join the scene.
My thoughts turn to the Age of Enlightenment with images of Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in a storm. I see the kite, tail, string, bottle and key. It is a delight to picture that activity in my mind and couple it with this painting.
Thank you Monsieur Chardin, it is such a great painting, the way you stated a boy’s life and a brother’s affection, the joy of bubbles, ant hills, spider webs, puffy clouds, and all of the everyday life of the physical world. You give me hope. I want to take off my shoes and feel my toes in the sand on a beach.
by Drew Burgess
Drew Burgess is an art professor at the College of Alameda of the Peralta Community College District of California.
Cite this page: Drew Burgess, “Soap Bubbles by Jean Siméon Chardin”, April 20, 2025, https://www.drewburgess.art/museum-visits/2025/4/20/soap-bubbles-by-jean-simon-chardin
Works Cited: Metropolitan Museum of Art “Soap Bubbles”, Jean Siméon Chardin, accessed April 20, 2025, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435888
DETAIL—Soap Bubbles, Jean Siméon Chardin (French, Paris 1699–1779 Paris), ca. 1733–34, Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 7/8 in. (61 x 63.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435888