Banquet Still Life c. 1620 - 1650

Editor: So, this is "Banquet Still Life," an oil painting from somewhere between 1620 and 1650 by Osias Beert. It feels opulent, even decadent, yet also a bit…staged, somehow? What do you see in this piece, Professor? Curator: It's fascinating how Beert uses symbols to suggest much more than just a spread of food. Consider the prominence of grapes, both light and dark, almost overflowing. Grapes have, for centuries, signified abundance, fertility, and, of course, the sacred connotations related to wine and religious ceremony. Does this banquet lean more toward earthly pleasure or spiritual reflection, do you think? Editor: I hadn’t really considered the religious aspect! But now that you mention it, there's something…intentional about the arrangement, like each item holds significance beyond its surface. Is the somewhat darkened background typical of how artists depicted luxury items at that time? Curator: Precisely! That darkened background acts as a stage, spotlighting each item, allowing them to exist as both objects of desire and symbolic representations. Look closer—the repetition of circular forms, in the cakes and fruit. Notice also, how the colors seem muted and rich, don't they evoke certain memories or perhaps moods? It feels deliberately constructed. Editor: Definitely! And those little candies…are those candies? They look quite expensive, but also transient and fleeting, positioned next to the skulls as they are, no? Almost a suggestion of something slightly melancholic, beneath the feast? Curator: Yes, yes. Think about this too, we interpret them as skulls but our 17th century diner might recognize marzipan shaped for a feast’s jesting vanitas. What appears sweet, could contain something more didactic in mind, maybe? Consider also how our contemporary tastes, what might appeal to you about a decadent sweet? What do we think and feel now, seeing these works, versus how they once were appreciated. Editor: It's really interesting to consider the different layers of meaning, and how those meanings can shift across time. I'll definitely look at still life paintings differently now!