Representation of Food and Feasting in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Pronkstillevens (1640-1672)

This study investigates the meaning of foods in pronkstillevens and the reasons for their appeal to mid-seventeenth-century beholders based on both primary and secondary sources. While Svetlana Alpers argued that still lifes evoked visual pleasure, Eddy de Jongh pointed out their hidden symbolism. Pronkstillevens also offered cultural insights and reflected socio-economic conditions of seventeenth-century Netherlands. Julie Berger Hochstrasser claimed that the primacy of Dutch trade was a key to understanding Dutch still life. The major finding of this research is that pronkstillevens were cap... Mehr ...