''The Ray'' (french: La raie) is a

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, bo ...

painting by

Jean Simeon Chardin Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

, first exhibited at the on 3 June 1728, and long held by the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

in Paris.

Exhibition

On 3 June 1728, the painting was first shown at the , a free open air exhibition held for a few hours at the corner of the

Place Dauphine The Place Dauphine is a public square located near the western end of the Île de la Cité in the first arrondissement of Paris. It was initiated by Henry IV in 1607, the second of his projects for public squares in Paris, the first being the P ...

and the

Pont Neuf The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC ...

each year on the day of Corpus Christi (but postponed in the event of rain to Sunday after the end of the

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

, Little Corpus Christi or ''Petite Fête-Dieu''). On 25 September 1728, Simeon Chardin exhibited the painting and '' The Buffet'' as his

reception piece In art, a reception piece is a work submitted by an artist to an academy for approval as part of the requirements for admission to membership. The piece is normally representative of the artist's work, and the organization's judgement of its skil ...

s to the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abo ...

. Both works remained with the Academy until the French Revolution, when they were moved to the new Muséum Central des Arts, now the

Analysis

Chardin depicts the bloody underside of a

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish * Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongi ...

, 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 to

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...

's painting of the '' Slaughtered Ox''. Although described by

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...

as "'disgusting", the peculiar but realistic composition was admired by other artists, including

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous ...

likened the image of the eponymous

ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

to the "nave of a polychromatic cathedral."

Symbolism

As is often the case in Chardin's still lifes, the subject is not essential but the support for pictorial research, an exercise in style on light, reflections and textures. Chardin practiced painting for painting's sake before his time, as a precursor to the research of the end of the 19th century.

References

External links

An Unforgettable Fish From Honest Chardin
article in

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

1728 paintings Paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin Still life paintings Cats in art Fish in art Paintings in the Louvre by French artists {{18C-painting-stub