A Slaughtered Ox

A slaughtered ox is a painting from the studio of Rembrandt van Rijn from ca. 1642-1643, which is attributed to Carel Fabritius.

The portrait belongs to a small group of paintings that used to be in Rembrandt's name, but according to the Rembrandt Research Project seem to be more youth works by Carel Fabritius. The paintings are variations on original works by Rembrandt. Stylistically and in terms of light, Fabritius probably based himself in this case on Rembrandt's work from the years 1639-1640. The Rembrandt Research Project mentions A dead rudder cap as a possible source of inspiration. The attribution to Fabritius is mainly based on the similarities with the slightly later history pieces Mercury and Argus and Mercury and Aglauros.In the inventory of the estate that was drawn up in 1643 after the death of Fabritius' first wife, there are two paintings of beaten pigs, which were probably made by Fabritius. Some paintings by his brother Barent with this subject have been preserved. This is an indication that such pieces were popular in his area. The Louvre in Paris owns an original Rembrandt of A Slaughtered Ox, but this is a later painting from 1655.