Inspired by Rembrandt, Chaim Soutine's richly colored work is one of his celebrated paintings of meat. After gaining recognition as an artist, Soutine was finally able to afford an entire ox carcass and a spacious studio. To keep the meat fresh, Soutine poured buckets of blood onto it, causing his neighbours to call the police. The painter, who had endured long stretches of poverty and hunger, chose this symbol of life, death, and sacrifice "to show Paris in the carcass of an ox".