A Slaughtered Ox (1655)

Rembrandt (1606-1669)

A Slaughtered Ox
1655
Oil on panel, 94 x 69 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Painting of exceptional success in the work of the master, especially since other representations of this type, known under the name of Rembrandt, are no longer admitted in the corpus of the master’s original works (Glasgow, Budapest, Philadelphia, etc.). As such, M.I. 169 is part of a very extensive iconographic lineage in Dutch art since the 16th century, without it being possible to know whether Rembrandt (or his clients) still subscribed, already at this date. late, to the idea of memento mori and to the lesson of vanity that this type of subject traditionally entailed. The motif may also derive from the theme of the prodigal son’s feast (Tümpel). Another possibility is that the painting could have been commissioned to serve as a commercial sign for a butcher (written communication from the Rembrandt Corpus, 1996). (Louvre)