''The Ray of Light'', also known as ''Le Coup de Soleil'', (c. 1665) is an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

on canvas painting by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

painter

Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural ach ...

. It is an example of

Dutch Golden Age painting Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

and is now in the collection of the

Louvre Museum 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 l ...

. This painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1911, who wrote; "664. THE BURST OF SUNSHINE (" Le Coup de Soleil "). Sm. 11. A road leads diagonally across the picture from the left foreground to the right distance. On the left a horseman in a red cloak rides forward; a beggar asks him for alms. A dog runs in front. In the centre the road crosses a stone bridge of four arches over a river to a ruined square tower with an archway. The broad river flows to the right, where three persons bathe near rocks in mid stream. On the farther bank are hills, with a ruined castle half-way up the slope. To the right is a wind-mill; farther back is a village with a church tower. A ray of sunlight, breaking through thick clouds, falls on a field in the left middle distance. The figures, though ascribed in the catalogue to Ph. Wouwerman, are by Ruisdael himself. The picture is strongly influenced by Rembrandt's landscapes, especially in composition. f. 788. Signed with the monogram on the left; canvas, 33 inches by 39 inches. Engraved by Laurent in the Musée Français. In the collection of King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. In the Louvre, Paris, 1902 catalogue, No. 2560; it was valued by the experts in 1816 (at 15,000 francs)". Entry 664 for 'The Burst of Sunshine''
in Hofstede de Groot, 1911 Influences: File:River Landscape with a Windmill.jpg, Rembrandt's ''River Landscape with a Windmill'' from the Museum Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - De stenen brug - Google Art Project.jpg, Rembrandt's ''Stone Bridge'' in the Rijksmuseum. File:WLA brooklynmuseum Thomas Doughty Landscape after Ruisdael 4.jpg, Thomas Doughty's copy from the Brooklyn Museum.

References

11. A Bald Mountainous Landscape
in Smith's catalogue raisonné volume 6, 1835
River valley with a stone bridge, jaren 1670
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Information about this painting
on the Louvre website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray of Light 1665 paintings Paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael Paintings in the Louvre by Dutch, Flemish and German artists Landscape paintings