paintings reveal about the ingredients available? When and why are New
World foods depicted? Are these foods always symbolic—reminders of
the passing of time or death, or harbingers of rebirth as are often found in
depictions of Mary and the baby Jesus? Or are some artists simply interested
in the beauty of fruits, vegetables, and dead animals?
Who purchased these paintings, and why? Why are there lumpy peasants
in village scenes in paintings by Breughel? Are they satirical or gently
condescending? What is the intention of raucous Twelfth Night scenes
with people clearly drinking to excess and cavorting with each other, while
animals run around and children are unattended? When opulent ingredients
are shown, we might assume that this is to fl aunt wealth and sophistication,
with beautiful vessels and exotic foods, then why do many Dutch still lifes
depict simple cheese, herring, and beer?
Finally, what do the kitchen scenes tell us about the experience of cooks in
the past? Who is doing which tasks? Why are some done by women and
others by men? What kinds of vessels are being used, and how do you think
the cooking technology infl uenced both the time spent in the kitchen and the
fl avor of the food? Was it necessarily much more labor intensive than today?
Also notice what is not depicted. Obviously, there is no refrigeration; how
would this have infl uenced the way people shopped and cooked? Paintings
can be a great resource for food history, and you are encouraged to undertake
similar exercises for other periods throughout the course as well.