The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has acquired Jean Siméon Chardin’s 1760 painting “The Cut Melon” after a tumultuous journey. The painting set a new record for the artist when it sold for $30.3 million at Christie’s France to Italian real estate investor Nanni Bassani Antivari last June. The Kimbell Art Museum was the underbidder at the time and missed acquiring the masterpiece.
In 2022, the museum tried unsuccessfully to acquire Chardin’s “Basket of Wild Strawberries” (1761) after France declared the work a national treasure, allowing the Louvre to keep it in its collection. However, in December, it was revealed that Antivari had not paid for “The Cut Melon,” resulting in a lawsuit from Christie’s for non-payment. While that case remains unresolved, the Kimbell Museum managed to acquire the painting directly from the descendants of Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild, an arts patron who had acquired the work in 1876.
Museum director Eric Lee expressed his excitement, stating, “In my opinion, ‘The Cut Melon’ is absolutely as wonderful as ‘Basket of Wild Strawberries.’ It looks like it’s always been here and it seems impossible to think of the Kimbell without this painting.”
Painted on a rare oval canvas nearly two feet wide, the still life features a “complex composition” of rounded forms anchored by a vivid orange wedge of cantaloupe poised atop the exposed core of a sliced melon, according to Lee. The painting will go on view Thursday in the museum’s Louis I.
Kimbell acquires rare Chardin masterpiece
Kahn building. “You don’t see orange that often in Old Master paintings, and I know Kahn was very keen on the color, so it’s nice to be able to bring orange back into the galleries,” Lee added. The museum doesn’t typically make acquisitions to “fill gaps” in its collection, but it made an exception for “The Cut Melon” due to its significance.
Prior to this acquisition, the museum had still lifes by Jacques de Gheyn and Luis Egidio Meléndez, and recently acquired works by Anne Vallayer-Coster and Louise Moillon. The museum also has one other Chardin work, “Young Student Drawing” (ca. 1738).
Lee noted, “The quiet stillness of the painting just resonates with the quiet stillness of Louis Kahn’s galleries. The architecture and the painting complement each other so well.”
“The Cut Melon” now joins the Kimbell’s collection, where it is expected to be a centerpiece, drawing admiration from visitors for its exquisite portrayal of everyday objects imbued with timeless beauty.
