The Carcase of an Ox

Rembrandt is the pre-eminent artistic master of painting the physicality of existence, the physical substance of being, whether here or in portraits and figure compositions. It is a physicality, beautiful in itself, in which he discovers the universal spirituality of being. Within this density of form, Rembrandt sees and understands, has the human insight and artistic genius to express, divinity, the universal truths of existence, in flesh (fabric and armor, for that matter), whether human or animal. A dead ox hangs in a dark room, its horns and skin lie on a slab, while a woman cleans the floor. The apparently unusual subject – that of a slaughtered animal – was quite common in the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The picture may be intended to remind people of the death that awaits us all. The free handling of the paint and the brown colouring are typical of Rembrandt. Although Rembrandt's signature is at the bottom of this painting it is possible that while he arranged the composition an assistant may have done most of the painting and signed it. Today is the birthday of my dearest friends Konrad - I want to dedicate this painting to him. Happy Birthday Ksy! -- Since 2012 every day we present one new piece of art to more than 300.000 people all around the world. Now we ask for your help - we want to create new version of DailyArt but we need $15000 to make it happen. On this website you will find the details and help us with a donation: http://support.getdailyart.com. Thank you!