Butcher's Shop

Butcher's Shop is the title of two paintings by the Italian Baroque painter Annibale Carracci, both dating from the early 1580s.

They are now in the collections of Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford,[1] and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

The large size of the Christ Church painting is exceptional for such a subject at this date, and it has been suggested they were commissioned by a butcher's guild, or for use as a sign.

Carracci was influenced in his depiction of everyday life subjects by Vincenzo Campi and Bartolomeo Passarotti, whom the Butcher's Shop was originally attributed to.

Carracci's ability to adapt his style is demonstrated, making it "lower" when concerning "lower", quasi-satirical subjects like the Mangiafagioli and the Butcher's Shop, while in his more academic works (such as the roughly contemporary Assumption of the Virgin) he was able to use a more finished manner with the same ease.

Annibale Carracci , The Butcher's Shop , early 1580s, Kimbell Art Museum , 23 1/2 × 27 15/16 in. (59.7 × 71 cm)