Completed in 1881, when Manet's health was in decline, The Rabbit was painted while the artist was spending the summer months at a villa in Versailles.

The painting, which was one of the central pairings of a four panel set, was part of a new cycle of decorative work undertaken by Manet while at Versailles.

The other central panel, along with The Rabbit conceived to representing hunting trophies, was The Eagle Owl which as of 2012 is part of the Buhrle Collection in Zurich.

This is in stark contrast to an earlier work by Manet also entitled the Rabbit (1866), which is completed in a far more traditional French style of still-life painting.

The 1881 picture is a far more casual work, with fast and broad brushstrokes suggesting various textures, not only in the fur of the dead animal, but also in the curtains behind the window and the climbing plant which both frame the hanging rabbit.