A young man stands full-length against a dark, undefined background, his body turned slightly to the left while his head faces forward, catching the light on his face and upper torso. He wears a white chef’s cap and a loose, buttoned jacket over a long, pale apron, the garments rendered in muted earth tones that blend softly into the shadowy surroundings. His feet are bare, the toes visible beneath the hem of his trousers, and he stands with one foot forward as if in motion, suggesting a moment of pause in his work.

With his right hand, he balances a large platter that holds several pieces of raw meat, their red flesh painted with thick, textured brushstrokes that stand out against the otherwise restrained color scheme. The background is a deep, almost velvety brown, painted with loose, broad strokes that set off the figure and heighten the sense of intimacy and immediacy. The composition is vertical and narrow, focusing all attention on the solitary figure and his humble task, with the objects he carries serving as both attributes of his role and vivid accents within the scene.

The surface of the canvas shows visible brushwork, especially in the highlights on the face, hands, and food, giving a tactile quality to the paint and emphasizing the materiality of both subject and medium. The Scullion is the work of Augustin Théodule Ribot, who painted it around 1865. The painting entered the Art Institute of Chicago in 1938, acquired from E. and A.

Silberman of New York with funds from the Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection.

According to the museum’s provenance, the work was previously owned by Baron Adolphe Kohner in Budapest and passed through a Paris art dealer before reaching New York.