A visitor favourite at the Art Gallery of Ballarat is an 1887 oil painting of a man in a top hat standing next to what can only be described as an absolute unit of a cow.

The rectangular beast — built like a proverbial brick shithouse — elicits a giggle from even the most serious gallery-goer.

But the title, Henry Stone and his Durham Ox, does little to explain why such a painting was made in the first place.

If we look through the pages of art history, we can find several other artworks showcasing enormous livestock.

So what's the deal with this niche genre of painting I'm calling "Big Cow"?

Ballarat's ox

Thomas Flintoff was an English-born painter and photographer who spent time in the US before following the gold rush to Victoria in 1853.

He set up a photography and painting stud

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