Researching the Use of the Carcass in Art

Observe a carcass scene and you begin to realize the complex interactions at play. The hierarchy at a carcass is well understood by those in attendance, played out between dominant and submissive, aged and youthful, resident and itinerant. Among coyotes, the ‘boss’ displays a fierce open-mouthed “alligator- gape” posture to all competitors. Yet, it is the coyote that sits on the periphery until the wolves are finished eating. Ravens show their high rank by strutting with head feathers raised and fluffy flanks. Nothing is random; the actions of wild creatures – and humans – have both causes and consequences.

https://www.georgebumann.com/gb/artofcarcass/

Analyse ... "Rembrandt very carefully wrote out the meat drying out, opening the chest and rounded lumps of fat and coagulated blood. In physical terms, it is just an image dead animals intended as food for humans. But Rembrandt was able to turn that image into a visual metaphor of spiritual beauty. This beef carcass as a symbol of transience of earthly life. But at the same time, it also reminds the viewer of spirituality and holiness. The legs of a bull, hanging to a wooden beam, similar to spread out his hands nailed to the cross. A slaughter a calf in the XIII century in art was a symbol of the crucifixion.

In the painting in 1655 reinforces the presence of these sensations women. She looks out from behind the door in the background, and it seems that she feels the excitement and humility at the sight of this scene. It was as if faced with the rite, in which truth and meaning of life open, exposed to show everyone. The figure of the animal in this case becomes both a sign of death and a symbol of the continuous cycle of life."  https://artinvestment.ru/en/news/artnews/20090906_butchered_pig.html