Dead Pheasant

Chaïm Soutine

1926-27

Dead Pheasant by Chaïm Soutine, 1926-27

Soutine was famously obsessed with painting dead animals, often keeping rotting carcasses in his studio until the stench drove his neighbors to complain to the police. In this visceral scene, a lifeless pheasant lies sprawled across a rumpled white cloth, its dark, mangled form contrasting sharply with the bright background. The thick, frantic brushstrokes give the bird a strange, vibrating energy, transforming a grim subject into a raw explosion of expressionist emotion. It’s a perfect example of how he found a strange, chaotic beauty in decay.

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