Food and Drink in European Painting

Food and Drink in European painting
History of Art
Presentation by Peixuan Wang
A draped female figure holds a metal dish, standing within an
arbor. In keeping with the theme of the two frescoes, she may
be identified as a maenad—a follower of the wine god
Bacchus. In a separate scene underneath her are pieces of
fruit on either side of a peacock, an exotic bird kept in the
gardens of wealthy Romans. The fruit includes a bunch of
grapes and pomegranates—symbols of fertility and rebirth.
The bright red border framing both the figure and the scene
below has a rectangular panel with stucco imitation (white
silhouettes on a blue background) inserted along the top.
Parts of the white background of the wall are visible. This
Fresco Depicting a Woman (Maenad?) Holding a Dish; fresco likely decorated a room in a Roman villa.
Peacock and Fruit Below
This version was completed between 1515 and 1520. In
this work, the characters are closely depicted together,
giving a sense of intimacy. The son of Christ stands on a
smooth stone parapet, which is the foreground of
painting. Strings of orange beads wrapped around him,
almost like a kind of restraint. On this ledge, Jos van
Cliffe depicts many symbolic inanimate objects. We see
the virgin holding a stem with three red cherries,
symbolizing heaven. There is a white lily in the glass
vase on the left, symbolizing the purity of the Virgin
Mary. It is believed that the piece of lemon cut by the
The Holy Family
knife may represent weaning.
By Joos Van Cleve (c. 1515-20 ）
In a Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli, a festoon of apples and a
cucumber-like gourd represent the triumph of Salvation over
Damnation: the gourd was associated with the former because in the
biblical story of Jonah, God caused a gourd to grow over the
prophet’s head as a shelter. The apple is not the only fruit proffered
by the figure of Christ in painting: often he holds a pomegranate,
cherries—which could allude both to the child’s sweetness and to
the sacrifice of his blood—or a quince. The quince was sacred to
the ancients as an attribute of Venus and an emblem of marriage and
fertility, and according to Pliny, a cutting from the quince tree
would form another tree when planted. It was thus associated with
Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli
immortality.
Symbolism: The two characters next to the woman in the center are
two comical characters that played roles in the Baroque theater
during that day. The man on the left (from our point of view) is
Peeckelhaering. In his right hand, he has a foxtail, the symbol of a
fool. A string with items hangs around his neck.On top of the string
are sausages and beans, which are a symbol of the male genitals.
Next to the sausages is a mussel, a symbol of the female genitals.
Below the sausages are two broken eggs. An egg symbolizes
manliness. In contrast, a broken egg is a way to make fun of a lack
of sex drive of the man.
Below the eggs are two herrings as a symbol of ridiculing someone
with sharp criticism.
At the bottom of the string is the foot of a pig symbolizing gluttony.
The man on the right is Hans Wurst. He makes an obscene gesture

with his hands to the woman.Some of the items on the table are also
sexual references. For example, the deflated bagpipes are another
Merrymakers at Shrovetide ca.1616-17 Frans Hals reference to the limited sexual potential of Peeckelhaering.
Looking from the distance, Arcimboldo's whimsical portraits
might look like portraits, but they are assembled using vegetables,
books, plants, kitchen utensils, sills, fruits, sea creatures, animals
and tree roots, each individual object chosen to give the
impression of anatomical trait of a human face. The portrait of the
emperor is created out of plants – flowers and fruits from all
seasons: gourds, pears, apples, cherries, grapes, wheat,
artichokes, peapods, corns, onions, artichoke, cabbage foils,
cherries, chestnuts, figs, mulberries, grapes, plums,
pomegranates, various pumpkins and olives. Rudolf's portrait is
composed of fruit, vegetables and flowers were to symbolize the
perfect balance and harmony with nature that his reign
represented. These portraits were an expression of the
Renaissance mind's fascination with riddles, puzzles, and the
bizarre. Arcimboldo's traditional religious subjects were later
forgotten, but his portraits of human heads composed of objects
Vertumnus, 1591, Giuseppe Arcimboldo were greatly admired by his contemporaries.
The Chinese porcelain bowl and Turkish carpet in
this still life would both have been luxurious imports,
here nonchalantly placed with wine and fruit on a
wooden table. The bowl, a lemon peel spilling over
its lip, balances on a piece of bread, animating the
static arrangement of the objects. According to
Gerard de Lairesse, a painter and writer of the next
generation, Kalf "surpassed others in still life,"
although "he never . . . knew how to explain his
images, why he depicted this or that, but simply
[painted] whatever took his fancy."
Still Life with Fruit, Glassware, and a Wanli Bowl

Willem Kalf
References:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/food/hd_food.htm
https://www.google.com.hk
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436052
https://www.tripimprover.com/blog/merrymakers-at-shrovetide-by-frans-hals
http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/16275/unknown-maker-fresco-depicting-a-w
oman-maenad-holding-a-dish-peacock-and-fruit-below-roman-ad-1-79/
http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Art/Paintings/en/PartGArcimboldo0001.html

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Food and Drink in European painting

The man on the right is Hans Wurst. He makes an obscene gesture

Still Life with Fruit, Glassware, and a Wanli Bowl

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