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| Title | Preparations for a Feast | |
| Alternative Title | Kitchen Scene: Preparing for a Feast | |
| Collection | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | |
| Artist | Attributed to Dutch (Delft) School Attributed to Dutch (Haarlem) School Previously attributed to school of Aertsen, Pieter (Netherlandish painter, born 1507 or 1508, died 1575) Previously attributed to Delff, Cornelis Jacobsz. (Dutch painter, 1571-1643) |
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| Date Earliest | about 1600 | |
| Date Latest | about 1625 | |
| Description | This painting is an example of a genre which developed during the sixteenth century in the Netherlands in which a biblical story takes place in the background and still life and genre elements depicting a kitchen or market dominate the foreground. Here, the background scene is more subtle showing a table set for a meal which could be an allusion to the Last Supper. The faces are highly individualised, especially that of the serving woman larding a hare. The meaning of this type of painting exists in the contrast between the foreground depiction of the material world and the spiritual content of the background scene. Here, the subtlety of the background scene indicates a later date than that suggested by the attribution to Aertsen. In this sense, it represents not only the end of the sixteenth century tradition but also the beginning of a new one, looking forward to the development of still-life painting. | |
| Current Accession Number | 1925P344 | |
| Former Accession Number | P.344´25 | |
| Subject | everyday life (kitchen scene); religion (Last Supper) | |
| Measurements | 93.5 x 169.5 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Given by J. Arthur Kenrick 1925. | |
| Principal Exhibitions | Art Treasures of the Midlands Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 1934, cat. no. 301; Welsh Art Council, 1970, cat. no. 204; Central Museum and Art Gallery, 1965; Manchester Art Gallery, 1965; De Rembrandt à Vermeer, Grand Palais, Paris, 1986, cat. no. 35 as 'Ecole de Haarlem ou de Delft'; Images of a Golden Age, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 1989, cat. no. 104, pl. 1. | |
| Publications | Wright, C., Images of a Golden Age, p. 110, no. 104, pl. 1; De Rembrandt à Vermeer, no. 35 as Ecole de Haarlem où de Delft, Grand Palais, Paris, 1986, p. 63; Brown, C., 'Meaning and Contrast in a picture from the circle of Pieter Aertsen', Burlington Magazine, vol. 116, 1974, p.210; Moxey, K. P. F., 'A 'Kitchen Scene' in Birmingham', Burlington Magazine, vol. 116, 1974, p.477 (reply to C. Brown); Brown, C., 'A 'Kitchen Scene' in Birmingham', Burlington Magazine, vol. 116, 1974, p.477 (reply to Moxey); Foreign Paintings in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, A Summary Catalogue, 1983, no. 1, ill. | |
| Notes | Keith P. F. Moxey suggests an attribution to Floris van Schooten (1974). Attribution to Cornelis J. Delff was made by H. Gerson. R. Ekkart has suggested an attribution of Cornelis Engelsz. Verspronck (1985). Dr P. J. J. van Thiel (RKD) suggests Michiel van Mierevelt in light of the highly individuated face of the serving woman (1985). B. Brenninkmeyer-De Rooij (RKD) doubts the Delff attribution and affirms that it is either Delft or Haarlem School, first quarter of the seventeenth century, therefore, ruling out Aertsen. However, Dr Christopher Brown (National Gallery) affirms that it may be Cornelis Jacobsz Delff and thinks it should be dated about 1597. Elements that suggest a later date, ruling out Aertsen are: 1. Softness of handling, absence of glittering hardness and virtuosity 2. Ambiguity of subject. No overt reference to a religious scene in the background 3. The spatial relationship with the restricted view of the background is more typical of seventeenth century exponents of this genre 4. Strongly individualised faces. For a list of seventeenth century artists influenced by Aertsen who practised this genre see Bruyn, J. Oud Holland, vol. 66, 1951, pp. 45-50. Wright (1989) argues that 'the search for an author of this picture must concentrate on Aertsen's Amsterdam pupil, Pieter Pietersz (died 1603)' who continued Aertsen's style. |
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| Rights Owner | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | |
| Author | Dr Patricia Smyth | |