Food has always played an important role in our social and cultural lifestyle. So it's no wonder that paintings depicting food can be found in all cultures throughout human history!
3000 years back to ancient Egypt
Drawings and paintings of food could already be found in Egyptian pyramids, made on interior walls of burial chambers and on coffins: these drawings were believed to nourish those who had gone to the afterlife!
Brief History of Food in Western Art
In the fifteenth century, artists were mainly inspired by the culture of antiquity and the natural world. Still lifes became a thing and food became the most widely used source of inspiration. The special thing about painting still lifes was that artists could fix a certain image. They did this by observing it closely and capturing it with realistic colours, shapes and textures. Did you know that food often also has a symbolic meaning?
Still life as an art genre
Particularly in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, food was one of the most popular subjects depicted in paintings with excellent realism and detail. In the foreground were the Dutch and Flemish masters with a large amount of food such as game, poultry, lobster, crustaceans, exotic citrus fruits or grapes. These kinds of expensive delicacies were associated with a privileged lifestyle, something that owners of these kinds of paintings wanted to identify with!
Hidden messages in paintings with food
As we have already said, in still lifes you can discover a lot of symbolism. Take a fruit for example: it can have a positive, but also a negative meaning! It decays quickly, so it fits the 'vanita' genre. Within this genre, vanity, temporality and mortality are visualized.
But a fruit can also stand for fertility, represent a biblical story or stand for wealth. The cohesive elements in these types of paintings give the viewer a warning or message and it can sometimes even contain a whole story! This is the interesting thing about still lifes: the longer you look, the more you can discover.
Our paintings with food
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If you are looking for more modern variants of paintings with food , then we have the perfect collection for you! In our food collection you can find modern prints in cheerful colors that will be a nice addition to your wall. Available as a poster, canvas painting or as a beautiful glossy plexiglass painting! |
Share your knowledge of paintings with food!
Many people see still lifes simply as a painting with fruit and do not understand the art behind them very well. So share this article with friends and family for an art tutorial! Curious about more paintings with food? Discover all our collections .