Carcass of Beef
1925
Chaïm Soutine's visceral 1925 masterpiece throws a raw, flayed beef carcass front and center, suspended against a swirling, stormy blue backdrop. The thick, frantic brushstrokes make the meat look almost alive, pulsing with a fleshy, bloody intensity that perfectly captures the raw emotion of Expressionism. Legend has it that Soutine was so obsessed with capturing the perfect decay of his subject that he let the carcass rot in his studio, driving his neighbors crazy with the stench and attracting swarms of flies. It’s a gruesome yet strangely beautiful tribute to the old masters like Rembrandt, turned up to a fever pitch of modern angst.
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