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<\/p>\nThroughout art history, depictions of feasts have had the ability to make our mouths water, while our eyes marvel at the painting skills on display. Aside from triggering our own appetites, scenes of laden tables, plentiful markets, and well-stocked kitchens offer symbolism as varied as the cuisine depicted \u2013 from themes of wealth, death and gluttony, to celebration, harmony, and hospitality. The Art Through Symbols series explores the interpretation of symbols throughout art history \u2013 be they cultural, religious, folkloric, or personal. Each article analyses a series of artworks before detailing an art-making tutorial inspired by the symbol for you to try.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI attribute capital esthetic and moral values to food in general, and to spinach in particular. The opposite of shapeless spinach, is armor. I love eating suits of arms, in fact I love all shell fish\u2026 food that only a battle to peel makes it vulnerable to the conquest of our palate.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n \u2013 Salvador Dali in his 1973 cookbook, Les Diners de Gala<\/em><\/p>\n Our cultural identities are often represented by the foods we eat \u2013 but what do paintings of tables full of produce symbolise beyond regional taste? A table piled impossibly high may be a satirical warning against gluttony \u2013 or a display of exorbitant wealth. The placement and choice of food objects may remind us of the brevity of life, or exist purely for visual interest. Bringing people together around a table marks a celebration, yet the actions that occur around it can be both vice and virtue. The kitchen as a setting for artworks depends on order for its symbolism, encompassing both harmony and complete chaos. The feast in general is full of duality \u2013 an interplay of indulgence and caution \u2013 making it a rich theme for artists to dine on.<\/p>\n For this article, I\u2019ll focus on paintings of feasts in a broader sense, where there is a piled tabletop, banquet, kitchen, or market stall. The detailed symbolism of individual foods is extensive and something to be explored separately. <\/p>\n Bountiful feasts atop tables that practically invite the viewer to sit down and help themselves proliferate in European painting. The edge of the surface tends to align with the bottom edge of the support, and often a dish or other object is precariously balanced on the edge. This may initially seem like an accident by a busy table guest, but this placement actually has hidden symbolism. When objects are placed very close to the edge, there\u2019s a sense that they could tip off at any moment \u2013 a visual reminder of the brevity of life. Once you\u2019re aware of this fact, tables stacked high with cooked seafood, plucked fruits, vegetables, and dead game suddenly all reek of death. This interplay between the celebration of life that eating together brings, paired with a ready awareness of life\u2019s fleeting nature, makes the genre existential in concern. <\/p>\n In Still Life with Peacock Pie<\/em>, Pieter Claesz painted some of the most indulgent foods available to the rich in Holland at the time, at life-size scale. It seems to mark a very special occasion with the combination of the extravagant pie, candied nuts, and plump, ripe fruits. At the time, salt was a very precious material, here elevated in a golden dish. The crumpled napkin and discarded cutlery imply the presence of a person in the scene, welcoming us to join in. The material wealth of the recipient of this food is evident not only through the presentation but also by the international trade required to gather it.<\/p>\n Clara Peeters had a key role in the establishment of the still life genre in the 17th Century, being among the first Dutch painters to paint refined compositions of food, flowers, and fish. The term \u2018still life\u2019 or stilleven<\/em> was only coined in the mid-17th Century, which this example, Still Life with Fish, Seafood and Flowers<\/em>, predates. She painted shells from Indonesia and the Pacific Ocean, paired with fish, shrimp, and oysters from Europe, underlining the significance of colonial trade in this era. Her specific artistic training and early life have been difficult for art historians to pinpoint, although it\u2019s clear she was commercially successful and cleverly devised her still lifes to appeal to a public where food and trade were important. Her paintings are masterfully rendered, with some even including small \u2018self-portraits\u2019 in the form of reflections in objects.<\/p>\n As opposed to the vacant still life of a banqueting table, the active feast also recurs in art history, marking celebrations. The Feast of Achelo\u00fcs<\/em> is a collaborative painting by two giants of the Baroque period \u2013 Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder. It depicts a scene from Ovid\u2019s Metamorphoses<\/em> where Theseus is treated to a feast by the river god Achelo\u00fcs, who personifies Greece’s longest river. Rubens painted the figures, jovial and generous, some stepping into the scene from the left, with arms laden with seafood and flowers. Brueghel painted the rest of the composition, rendering the intricate grotto they dine in. In this work, the food is a gesture of goodwill, and a support for dialogue. <\/p>\n The bacchanalian feast is a genre of painting inspired by the god Bacchus, and his pursuit of excess through food, drink, partying, and lust. In the Roman Era, \u2018bacchanals\u2019 were real events of revelry in honour of Bacchus, some ensuring a good harvest for the next season. These were outlawed by the Roman senate in 186 BCE for their excess and disorder. This didn\u2019t stop Renaissance artists, millennia later, from being inspired by their story. The bacchanals provided the perfect framework for complex figure compositions, and gave artists a way to depict nudity and folly through Gods that people no longer believed in. <\/p>\n To follow the previous collaborative painting example, The Feast of the Gods<\/em> by Giovanni Bellini and Titian is based on a scene from Ovid\u2019s Fasti<\/em>. The Gods are humanised to dine and drink amongst nymphs and satyrs, with erotic undertones. Here, the feast is a device for lust and revelry. <\/p>\n Paintings of market stalls were particularly popular in the Netherlands in the 16th Century, combining the skill of still life painting with social commentary. The paintings both depict commerce and became commodities themselves due to their own popularity with the richest in society.<\/p>\n Frans Snyders is often considered the pioneer of the market still life, depicting overflowing tables of produce and animals with a seller. In Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market<\/em>, Snyders depicts a table covered in game, but when you look closer, you notice some living creatures too. A dove takes flight at the top right, its mate perched next to it, and two roosters fight on the ground \u2013 carefully watched by a pair of cat’s eyes under the shadow of the table. Hidden below the basket in the distracted market seller’s arm, a little boy picks his pocket. <\/p>\n Once we notice these details, the idea of morality is introduced to the painting. Where some carcasses represent negative traits \u2013 the peacock symbolising vanity, and the boar gluttony \u2013 there are also animals that embody positive attributes, like the purity of the deer, and the swan’s association with love. Combined with the mischievous pickpocket, hunting cat, and welcoming vendor, the painting proposes the push and pull between virtues in our lives through the vehicle of selling food. <\/p>\n Artworks of food in preparation draw attention to labour done behind the scenes, finding beauty in the mundane. Kitchen Scene<\/em> by Kitagawa Utamaro is a diptych of four women working away in the kitchen. From left to right, they are washing dishes, holding a baby, peeling vegetables, blowing on the cooking flames, and tending to the stove. We don\u2019t see much of the food they prepare, but we do get a sense that their individual roles are harmonious and organised. Utamaro is one of the most famed ukiyo-e artists, who produced over 2000 prints in his lifetime. Unusually for ukiyo-e artists, he found fame during his lifetime in the 1790s with his prints of beautiful noblewomen with exaggerated features. This print shows that his subject matter didn\u2019t solely draw from women of the upper classes, but from people of all walks of life. <\/p>\n In contrast to the organised peace of Utamaro\u2019s kitchen, The Fat Kitchen<\/em> is a chaotic engraving by Pieter van der Heyden inspired by a drawing by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Here, food is used as a vehicle to satirise social class and political issues, leading to unfair distribution of resources. In The Fat Kitchen<\/em>, we see people gorging themselves on food, indulging in the sin of gluttony. They chase a thin man out of the door, unable to share because of being overpowered by greed. It exists in a pair with The Thin Kitchen<\/a><\/em>, where an inverse scene takes place. The kitchen in this engraving is piled high with plates and pots, with a copious amount of meat hanging from the ceiling \u2013 underlining that excess to this extent is immoral. <\/p>\n I was inspired by Clara Peeters\u2019 and Pieter Claesz\u2019s masterful still life oil paintings, with their rich brown backgrounds, and low lighting. For this art prompt, we\u2019ll paint a still life of food from life in one sitting inspired by their palettes. <\/p>\n For this art prompt, you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n Michael Harding Oil Paints<\/a> in Warm White<\/a>, Turners Yellow<\/a>, New Gamboge<\/a>, Cadmium Green<\/a>, Phthalo Blue Red Shade<\/a>, Rose Dore<\/a>, Transparent Oxide Red<\/a>, and Raw Sienna<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s Professional Acrylic Paint<\/a> in Burnt Sienna<\/a> <\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s Glass Palette<\/a><\/p>\n Jean Haines Beech Table Easel<\/a><\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s 25 x 30 cm Cotton Canvas<\/a> <\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s English Distilled Turpentine<\/a> and Jackson\u2019s Refined Linseed Oil<\/a><\/p>\n An assortment of oil brushes<\/a><\/p>\n A jar <\/p>\n To begin my still life, I assembled an assortment of food objects in front of me, with a plate, bowl, oyster shell, knife and vase of flowers for visual variety. My goal was to arrange them in a believable table scene that someone could lift a snack from. <\/p>\n Next I positioned the lighting on my objects to create a full range of tone – catching highlights, and casting dark shadows. I\u2019m right handed, so I positioned my table easel to the right of the still life scene, so I could look at it on my left without my view being obstructed by my own arm. <\/p>\n I prepared my canvas by applying a Burnt Sienna ground, to build the image from a darker base tone, and to immediately incorporate the brown of my inspiration palette. To start painting I lightly sketched the composition in oil, using a combination of Transparent Oxide Red and Phthalo Blue Red Shade. <\/p>\n Next I blocked in the areas of shadow, using the same colours but with more blue in the mixture. Then I blocked in a layer to establish the colour and tone of each object, working my way around the composition, without worrying about fine detail. At this stage it was still very easy to adjust the spacing of objects, since I kept my paintwork loose.<\/p>\n Once I was satisfied with the composition and placement of colour I worked back around the painting, rendering one object at a time with sharper observation of tone, colour and texture.<\/p>\n To complete the work I picked out the finest details like the raisins in the bagel, texture of the oyster, and stems of the apples. Finally I applied the pure white highlights to the fruits and plates. <\/p>\n Art Through Symbols: Fire<\/a><\/p>\n Art Through Symbols: The Skull<\/a><\/p>\n Chiaroscuro Techniques for Painting, Drawing and Printmaking<\/a><\/p>\n A Guide to Oil Painting<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Art_Through_Symbols_The_Feast_Blog_Image-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTabletop Still Life \u2013 Wealth and Death<\/h2>\n
![\"Still](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/still_life_with_peacock_pie_2013.141.1-scaled.jpg\")
Pieter Claesz
Oil on panel, 77.5 x 128.9 cm | 30.5 x 50.7 in
National Gallery of Art<\/a><\/small>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"Still](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SK-A-2111-1-scaled.jpg\")
Clara Peeters
Oil on panel, 25 x 34.8 cm | 9.8 x 13.7 in
Rijksmuseum<\/a><\/small>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFeasting – Celebration and Lust<\/h2>\n
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Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder
Oil on wood, 108 x 163.8 cm | 42.5 x 64.5 in
The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a><\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/the_feast_of_the_gods_1942.9.1-scaled.jpg\")
Giovanni Bellini and Titian
Oil on canvas, 170.2 x 188 cm | 67 x 74 in
National Gallery of Art<\/a><\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Market \u2013 Morality and Mischief<\/h2>\n
![\"Still](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Still-Life-with-Dead-Game-Fruits-and-Vegetables-in-a-Market.jpg\")
Frans Snyders
Oil on canvas, 212 x 308 cm | 83.5 x 121.3 in
Art Institute of Chicago<\/a><\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCooking \u2013 Harmony and Chaos<\/h2>\n
![\"Kitchen](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1925.2289-Kitchen-Scene-scaled.jpg\")
Kitagawa Utamaro
Colour woodblock print, 50.2 x 75 cm | 19.8 x 29.5 in
Art Institute of Chicago<\/a><\/a><\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DP808143-scaled.jpg\")
Pieter van der Heyden after Pieter Brueghel the Elder
Engraving, 22.2 x 29.5 cm | 8.8 x 11.6 in
The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a><\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Feast \u2013 Art Prompt<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nFurther Reading<\/h2>\n
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