Tracing the subject back it is probable that Rembrandt’s Slaughtered Ox originates from the prodigal son depiction of the fatted calf. Rembrandt often picks a part from a larger scene or story and then highlights it. Art historian Christian Tümpel describes this as ‘herauslosung’. This can also be seen in Rembrandts Jewish Bride and Jacob Blessing the Children of Joseph, where there is not much that remembers of the original story. This could mean that Rembrandt’s Slaughtered Ox is more than just a realistic depiction of a dead ox.