Ewa LajerBurcharth Chardin Material Author:Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, Daniel Birnbaum, Isabelle Graw Adapted from the lecture she delivered at the Institut für Kunstkritik, Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main, Ewa Lajer-Burcharth’s essay explores the dimension of self-reflexivity in the work of eighteenth-century French painter Jean-Siméon Chardin. Focusing on the material aspects of Chardin’s practice, Lajer-Burcharth ... more »asks: In what ways were Chardin’s painterly procedures “his own,” and what were the implications of his possessive and personalized approach to the process of making? The author delves into these questions by examining a crucial moment in the artist’s career, when he, for reasons we can only speculate about, temporarily abandoned his still life practice and turned to painting genre scenes. The essay is joined by responses from Daniel Birnbaum and Isabelle Graw, followed by the author’s replies.« less