Artwork
Still Life with Rayfish
Still Life with Rayfish is an oil painting by Chaïm Soutine. It dates from 1923 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1923, *Still Life with Rayfish* is an oil painting by Chaïm Soutine, a Belarusian‑Jewish artist linked to the School of Paris. The work belongs to the still‑life tradition and is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art. It exemplifies Soutine’s departure from literal representation, emphasizing the physicality of paint and the emotional resonance of ordinary objects.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a cluttered tabletop: a red earthenware pot, a cluster of bruised pears or apples, and an inverted fish with its mouth agape, rendered in a distorted, almost liquefied manner. The juxtaposition of the fleshy fruit and the gaping fish creates a tension between vitality and decay, inviting contemplation of the fleeting nature of material abundance.
Technique & Style
Soutine employs a vigorous impasto, laying thick layers of pigment that protrude from the canvas. Broad, uneven brushstrokes generate a textured surface, while the palette—rich reds, muted greens, and stark whites—heightens the visual intensity. This approach aligns with his expressionist concerns for shape, color, and tactile presence over precise likeness.
History & Provenance
After its completion, the painting entered private collections before being acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on display. Soutine’s oeuvre, informed by the legacies of Rembrandt, Chardin, and Courbet, reflects a broader European tradition that he reinterpreted through his own emotive, painterly language.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Chaïm Soutine (French: ; Russian: Хаим Соломонович Сутин, romanized: Khaim Solomonovich Sutin; Yiddish: חײם סוטין, romanized: Chaim Sutin; 13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a French painter of Belarusian-Jewish…
