Description:

The white-robed vestal virgins of ancient Rome were a favorite subject for artists in the second half of the 18th century. This imposing simulation of an ancient relief shows priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth, tending her sacred fire. At the end of his life, Jean Siméon Chardin made a number of copies of reliefs of nymphs, putti, and satyrs; like this painting, they are remarkable for conveying a range of subtle coloristic effects on what purports to be a monochrome surface. This picture has been linked with a bas-relief listed in the inventory of the artist’s effects after his death as well as with a painting of vestal virgins by Chardin sold in 1840.