Oct 16, 2007
Feb 20, 2009

Still Life with Rayfish

Still Life with Rayfish

1923

Chaïm Soutine

(Russian, 1893–1943)

Oil on canvas

Framed: 111.8 x 94.3 x 11.8 cm (44 x 37 1/8 x 4 5/8 in.); Unframed: 80.5 x 64.5 cm (31 11/16 x 25 3/8 in.)

Gift of the Hanna Fund 1951.357

Location

On view at:

Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Sep 1, 2023 - Jan 14, 2024

Description

Inspired by J. S. Chardin’s 1725–26 still life of a stingray at the Musée du Louvre, Chaim Soutine reinterpreted the theme in a turbulent, luminescent manner. Every line and form undulates as if propelled by some unseen force. Tied up on two points, as if being tortured or crucified, the stingray assumes an expression of almost human anguish, transforming it into a powerful metaphor for suffering, perhaps referring to Soutine’s own life as a poor Jewish artist who emigrated from Belarus to Paris in 1913.

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