The Attributes of the Arts with a Bust of Mercury

The date of 1728 is suggested for the painting by critics. In that year Chardin entered the Acad�mie, listed as a painter “skilled in animals fruits” and became most noted for his important works both dated 1728, The Ray Fish, and The Sideboard. The Ray Fish arguably proclaimed the artist’s ambition and caused a sensation allowing Chardin entry to the Acad�mie and inspiring Diderot to say were he to train his son as an artist this is the picture he would have him copy.