The Ray
Jean-Siméon Chardin, 1728
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, 107 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyBeneath a gutted ray hanging like a ruined ghost, a young cat arches over the oysters it is in the act of stealing. The canvas that got Chardin into the Academy on sight — and its one living actor is a thief with its fur up.
- Maker
- Jean-Siméon Chardin
- Date
- 1728
- Medium of the original
- Oil on canvas
- Original held by
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Credit
- Musée du Louvre, Paris · via Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-01878
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | 107 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 12 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 14 x 11 in | 78 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 16 x 12 in | 70 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 20 x 16 in | 53 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 24 x 18 in | 46 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 30 x 24 in | 35 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 36 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 40 x 30 in | 28 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 48 x 36 in | 23 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 60 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,124 x 858 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 23, lights 196 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 11.33
- Notes
- Neutrals lean toward magenta: the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
Best in Show
Art has always known who the good ones are.
All 153 pieces from Best in Show
