Why are Simple Things Special?

Have you ever wondered what makes simple objects so special and remarkable?

This is something I ponder, and have never found an exact reason it is so.

Instead, my reaction is more from the gut, often I respond emotionally to a scene on a very unconscious level, where I just feel a sense of happiness, connection, and warmth. I think these feelings are universal, and have always been a part of our lives.

{Basket of Peaches, with Walnuts, Knife, and a Glass of Wine by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin}

In 18th Century France, when art was dominated by the highly refined Rococo style, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin chose to celebrate the common, treating still life with a respect that was hardly given any attention by his contemporaries. At the time, history painting was considered the supreme classification of art, and the genre of still life was relegated to only being the decorative background to more "serious" work.

Instead Chardin imbued his paintings with a beguiling sense of appreciation for the here and now, celebrating the present by identifying the beauty found in common household objects. Simple groupings that still resonate today because his paintings present scenes of common objects that evoke the sense of looking through a window, not our own and not of our time, but still reminiscent of our own lives.

I still remember the first time I was exposed to Chardin's work. It was as if my world had just expanded.  And my attitude towards the simple objects that populated my life had just gained a new level of appreciation, because everything was now given an opportunity to be seen as special and unique. This awareness made me more willing to pause, observe, and appreciate the simple things in my daily routine.

Do you think simple things are special?