| The Ray | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jean Simeon Chardin[1] |
| Year | 1728 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 114 cm × 146 cm (45 in × 57 in) |
| Location | Louvre Museum,Paris |
The Ray (French:La raie) is astill-life painting by the French artistJean Simeon Chardin, first exhibited at theExposition de la Jeunesse [fr] on 3 June 1728, and long held by theLouvre in Paris.
On 3 June 1728, the painting was first shown at the Exposition de la Jeunesse, a free open air exhibition held for a few hours at the corner of thePlace Dauphine and thePont Neuf each year on the day ofCorpus Christi (but postponed in the event of rain to Sunday after the end of theoctave, Little Corpus Christi orPetite Fête-Dieu).On 25 September 1728, Chardin exhibited the painting andThe Buffet as hisreception pieces to theAcadémie royale de peinture et de sculpture.[2] Both works remained with the Academy until the French Revolution, when they were moved to the new Muséum Central des Arts, now the Louvre.
Chardin depicts the bloody underside of askate, gutted and hanging from a hook on the stone wall. The fish lies above a shelf on which there are various domestic items to the right on a white cloth: two metal pans, a ceramic jug, a bottle and a knife. Below the skate are two other fish, and further to the left are some opened oysters and a cat with an arched back and raised fur, as if frightened by the sight. The composition can be analysed as a series of pyramids, with the pointed skate in the centre, the jug and other inanimate objects to the right, and the cat and oysters to the left. The handle of the knife hanging off the ledge and the corner of the stone wall leading past the cat away from the viewer, adds depth to the scene.
Chardin was influenced by the Dutch still life paintings of the 17th century: the scene has been compared toRembrandt's painting of theSlaughtered Ox. Although described byDiderot as "'disgusting", the peculiar but realistic composition was admired by other artists, includingMatisse.Marcel Proust likened the image of the eponymousray to the "nave of a polychromatic cathedral."[3]
