Castelos de Cartas

Estas três pinturas de Chardin têm o mesmo tema: Castelos de Cartas. A primeira (1735-1736) pertence à National Gallery (Londres); a segunda (1737) à National Gallery of Art (Washington) e a terceira (c. 1740), muito semelhante à segunda, é da Galleria degli Uffizi (Florença).

A primeira pintura foi exposta em 1741 com o título Le Fils de M. Le Noir s'amusant à faire un Château de Cartes. 

Acerca da segunda diz o site da NGA que: «this painting points to idleness and the vanity of worldly constructions. The boy's apron suggests he is a household servant called to clear up after a gaming party. Instead, he uses the cards—folded to prevent their being marked and used again—to build the most impermanent of structures. The stability of the painting's triangular composition freezes the moment, as the boy is poised, breathless, to remove his hand and test the fragile balance of his construction. In the open drawer the jack of hearts hints at rascality».

De acordo com o site dos Uffizi, onde está a terceira pintura: «The artist once said of painting, “We use colors, but we paint with our feelings,” and for him still-life subjects had a life of their own. As the 19th/20th Century French novelist, Marcel Proust (1871 – 1922) wrote, "We have learned from Chardin that a pear is as living as a woman, that an ordinary piece of pottery is as beautiful as a precious stone." Proust also wrote of the artist, “Everyday life will charm you once you have absorbed Chardin’s painting for a few days like a lesson. Then, having understood the life of his painting, you will have discovered the beauty of life."»