He assesses every day

Description of the artwork

Presented at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1882, our imposing still life unfolds, in the hushed atmosphere of an art lover's study, the staging of a veritable theatre of vanities. With his characteristic pictorial virtuosity, Charles Hutin orchestrates on his large canvas a profusion of gleaming treasures. In a profusion that is somewhat difficult to organise, the art objects are mixed with armour, porcelain, sculptures, precious textiles and other antique books.
The painter excels in his meticulous rendering of materials, the brilliance of glazes, the opacity of bronzes, the softness of velvets and shimmering brocades. Enthroned in the centre of this monumental disorder, a monkey perched on a stool, magnifying glass in hand, attentively observes a long, elegant white pipe. The animal, an allegorical figure of human vanity, introduces a note that is both satirical and symbolic. It is meant to mimic the expert or collector, and remind man of his own obsession with possessing, classifying, and authenticating.

Feelings are relegated to the background. Occupying the left side of the composition, the small, graceful, plump cupid, deprived of his wings, bow and arms, appears as a powerless spectator of the tedious work carried out by the macaque. Initially attributed to Pierre Puget and now considered to be the work of François Duquesnoy, this plaster putto statuette was a fairly common model in workshops at the time. Painted many times by Cézanne (fig. 1), it gives our painting a more symbolic dimension by adding a discreet evocation of deep love, reduced to the state of an inert object. Although the scene remains silent, it eloquently suggests the tensions that exist between knowledge, possession and desire.

The very title chosen by Charles Hutin for the Salon, ‘Il expertise tous les jours’ (He appraises every day), offers a witty touch of irony that foreshadows his participation in the Incohérents exhibition the following year. Yet far removed from the moralistic ambitions of history painting, the artist also seems to offer a deeper reflection on the human condition, which is just as preoccupied with the accumulation of wealth as it is with the acquisition of knowledge.