A pig slaughter

Painted circa 1655-56, this painting is the only known work executed on copper by Cornelis Pietersz. Bega. The composition was long described as a village market, but it was reidentified as a depiction of a pig slaughter when exhibited in 2012 (loc. cit.). Slaughtered pigs were a common motif in seventeenth century genre paintings, and were typically considered an allegory of vanitas, particularly when symbolized by a child playing with a pig’s inflated bladder. In this scene, the child is shown from behind, seemingly looking toward the butcher at center. As Sarvenaz Ayooghi has suggested, the child’s attention is likely drawn to the butcher’s concealed hand, which probably holds his knife (ibid).

When the painting was with Gebroeders Douwes in 1928, the basket at lower right, spilling out with the entrails of a pig, was overpainted with a white cloth.