The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Carcasses

1840–1860

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps

(French, 1803–1860)
France, 19th century
watercolor and gouache
Sheet: 24.6 x 17.9 cm (9 11/16 x 7 1/16 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.344
Location: Not on view

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.
  • [Colnaghi, London, 1975]. [Shepherd Gallery, New York, 1976-77]; purchased in 1977.
  • Exhibition of French drawings, post Neo-Classicism, 20 February-27 March 1975 : [held at] P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd / [catalogue compiled and introduction written by Jane Low]. Referenced: cat. no. 46, p. 24
    Rohowsky, Peter S. French Nineteenth Century Drawings, Pastels, Watercolors: Nov. 1977-Feb. 1978. New York: Shepherd Gallery Associates, 1977.
    Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Referenced: cat. no. 33, p. 76-77, Reproduced: p. 77
  • French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
    French Nineteenth Century Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolors, Shepherd Gallery, New York (1977), no. 22.
    French Drawings, Post Neo-Classicism, Colnaghi, London (1975), 24, no. 46.
  • {{cite web|title=Carcasses|url=false|author=Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps|year=1840–1860|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.344