Details

Object type

painting

Title

The Ray

Artist/Maker

Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin artist

Culture/School

French

Date

circa 1728

Materials

oil on canvas

Dimensions

framed: 1025 mm x 835 mm x 95 mm (approx depth);unframed: 812 mm x 641 mm

Description

The creature depicted hanging suspended from a hook is a skate, a type of fish. Its bloody underside has been cut open, and we can see its silvery ‘wings’, the parts of the fish commonly eaten. Several objects are positioned on a stone ledge below the fish, including a round, silver tray, a knife, a glass jug of red liquid, and several oysters. The seafood is attracting the attention of a tortoiseshell cat, who stealthily reaches its right paw towards the oysters, resting its left paw on a blue and white faience dish.

Chardin championed everyday objects, particularly things found in the kitchen, used by everyday people of his time. He was inspired by the great Dutch Still Life scenes of the 17th century, reviving the genre at a time when it had sunk out of favour, placed lower in the hierarchy of painting than subjects such as Portraiture, History and Religious painting. ‘The Ray’ highlights Chardin’s skill at depicting texture: from the delicate underside of the fish, to the thick coat of the cat, to the dull sheen of the tray. The painting is also a masterclass in composition: the diamond-shape of the fish complements the circular tray, leading our eye expertly to the cat, who animates the painting brilliantly. The cat allows us to imagine what might happen next: will it get the oyster, toppling over the knife and sending the delicate dish tumbling? Chardin painted this artwork around the same time as another painting of a skate, also called ‘The Ray’, which is currently at the Louvre, Paris.

Credit Line/Donor

Gifted by Sir William and Lady Burrell to the City of Glasgow, 1944

Collection

Burrell Collection: Pictures [Oils, Pastels and Watercolours]

ID Number

35.57

Location

Burrell Collection