The Slaughtered Hog1653

In the center of this painting, a large animal carcass is hanging upside down from a wooden frame, with several people attending to it. The carcass is light pink and has been cut open to reveal white ribs, red muscles, and purple organs. On the far left, a young boy stands next to a barrel and a basket, holding several small knives. To the right, a man in a red cap and white apron observes the carcass while holding a drink. An older man in a furred cap and dark clothing looks towards him and holds one edge of the carcass. On the other side of the animal, a young boy blows up a round object. Two women peer out from the doorway of a wooden building in the background, one holding a basket full of what looks like meat. Behind this group of people are several brown structures and a bare tree against a light pink sky.

Description from the National Gallery of Art.

Jan Victors painted this in 1653, aged 34. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

How it was made

Oil on panel

Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.

Oil paint

Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.