The Washerwoman by Jean Siméon Chardin

Collector François Marcille (1790-1856) assembled one of the most fabulous collections of ^18th-century works. Trained as a painter himself, he shared with the young Romantics a taste for forgotten masters, notably Chardin, whose Le Panier de fraises des bois and La Lavandière he owned. Marcille contributed to the intellectual life of Orléans after the museum was founded in 1823, and passed on his passion to his children.

On his death, his collection was divided between his two sons: Camille (1816-1875), curator of the Chartres museum, and Eudoxe (1814-1890), director of the Orléans museums for 20 years. Eudoxe Marcille was the museum's great renovator, rehanging collections to enhance their value, and enriching them with 3,000 donations. He presented the museum with a portrait of the jurisconsult Robert-Joseph Pothier (1699-1772) by Simon Lenoir. This painting stands alongside portraits of his contemporaries, such as Jean-Baptiste Perronneau.

Although Chardin is present in the collection thanks to theSelf-portrait with bezicles, the museum has never received a gift or been able to acquire the precious Chardin paintings from this Orléans collection. However, a collector agreed to donate the Lavandière from the Marcille collection to the museum. The owner had it restored to its original state under the supervision of Pierre Rosenberg, a specialist in the artist's work. It's an exceptionally well-preserved Chardin that the public can discover until summer 2026.