Artwork Page for Carcasses

Details / Information for Carcasses

Carcasses

1840–1860

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps

(French, 1803–1860)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
watercolor and gouache
Support
Beige wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 24.6 x 17.9 cm (9 11/16 x 7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.344
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

With the subject of Carcasses, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps was following an old artistic tradition. He was inspired by Rembrandt's (1606-1669) Slaughtered Ox (see photo) which he would have seen at the Louvre Museum. Decamps greatly admired the Dutch master and owned several paintings by him. In spite of the inspiration from Rembrandt, Decamps's watercolor of about 200 years later conveys a different mood. Instead of focusing on a single butchered corpse as Rembrandt had, Decamps viewed his bodies and slabs of meat from further back, and he included domestic objects and a background figure standing at a table. Decamps's resulting image stands less as a symbol of death and more as a matter-of-fact representation of daily life.
A vertically oriented watercolor and gouache drawing depicts animal carcasses hanging against a wall of blotchy brown strokes. The central carcass is creamy white with exposed dark red and purple interior cavities. To the left, an axe sits in a wooden stump. On the ground rests a green and yellow pitcher near a small animal head. In the dark background to the right, a figure sits with their back turned.

Carcasses

1840–1860

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps

(French, 1803–1860)
France, 19th century

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