Girl with Racket and Shuttlecock Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin (1699-1779)

The painting Girl with Racket and Shuttlecock depicts a young girl with rosy cheeks, her gaze directed to the right. She is dressed in a white bodice and a voluminous white skirt, adorned with a brown jacket with ruffled cuffs and a blue ribbon. White lace adorns her head.
In her left hand, she holds a tennis racket with a red wooden frame and a net. In her right hand, she holds a shuttlecock, its feathers fanned out. The background is a muted, dark green, contributing to the overall serene and somewhat intimate atmosphere of the portrait.
The subtext of the painting lies in its portrayal of leisure and aristocratic pastimes. The girls attire, while youthful, also suggests a certain social standing, as does the presence of sporting equipment for what would have been a recreational activity. The juxtaposition of the delicate girl and the sporting items hints at a world where such activities were associated with a privileged class, perhaps suggesting a nascent interest in physical activity for women, or simply capturing a moment of childhood engaged in a fashionable pastime. The indirect gaze could imply a sense of pensiveness or an engagement with something unseen, adding a layer of quiet contemplation to the portrait.