The Identity & Function of Food in Art History
When you’re scrolling through social media, there’s a very good chance you will see an enticing photo of someone’s meal. Whether it’s an acai bowl, epic burrito, or that dreamy loaf of bread fresh from the oven, people love to take to Instagram to share what they’re about to dig into. In fact, one study found that 27% of Instagram users post some sort of food content and that “food lovers'' are especially avid users of the app, taking in 4 times the content of their non-foodie counterparts.
Though this fascination with the aesthetics of food may seem like a new phenomenon, it’s anything but. From the dawn of time… okay, we aren’t going to go all the way back to cave paintings, but yes, people have been sharing depictions of food in art for centuries. All the way back in the 1650s, advertisements for coffee, chocolate, and tea frequently populated English periodicals.
Food can be used as a stand-in for an artist’s fixation on the excesses of their contemporaries or it can be a signifier for a broader political or cultural phenomenon that extends beyond the frame.
Here are a few of our favorite artworks that depict all aspects of food — how it can make us feel guilty and lavish at the same time; how it can make even the supermarket feel a little erotic; how it can help us transcend.
As a symbol of abundance: Still Life with Lobster and Fruit
by Abraham van Beyeren (1650)
Still Life with Lobster and Fruit by Abraham van Beyeren
Vanitas is a genre of painting associated with the early 17th century Netherlands. Translating to vanities from Latin, these paintings depict the abundance of the Dutch empire while simultaneously showing the viewer that these commodities and luxuries are merely superficial pleasures. This mentality has Calvinist roots and reflects an emphasis on man’s mortality. For instance, in numerous Vanitas paintings, one can see skulls in the foreground or background. In the 17th century, spices, fruit, and exotic animals were the spoils of imperialist conquest with the Netherlands particularly thriving.
Abraham van Beyeren’s 1650 painting “Still Life with Lobster and Fruit” spotlights lobster, grapes, and stone fruit galore, encouraging the viewer to contemplate the results of this rapid economic boom. Looking back, it’s an artifact of the amoralistic glut of imperialism. During the time, however, it likely reflected the Dutch populus dealing with a rapidly changing world. This overflowing display of food serves as a mediator for introspection — so much to eat, so little time left on this Earth, and what is it all for?
As a capitalist commodity: Banana by Andy Warhol (1967)
Banana by Andy Warhol
If you were in the vicinity of an Urban Outfitters from the years 2008 to 2011, you probably have The Velvet Underground & Nico album cover shirt featuring that iconic banana somewhere in your closet. Or, you’re wearing it right now because it’s laundry day (no judgment here). Coming from a background in print advertising, the pop art genius’s work explored our relationship to capitalist commodities. In the Warholian vortex, Marilyn Monroe and a can of Campbell Soup are one in the same — just two products marketed to the masses.
Back in 1967, Warhol’s “Banana” cover originally came with a peel-off sticker, allowing fans to unwrap the banana. In the age of streaming, interactive album covers are sadly a thing of the past. However, the ethos of the banana lives on and is arguably the basis of a lot of graphic design we see today. Warhol’s “Banana” glorifies the mundane, launching a supermarket afterthought into the upper echelons of rock stars.
As erotic fetishization: Virgo Triennial by Chloe Wise (2017)
Chloe Wise’s “Virgo Triennial”
Years after Warhol, Chloe Wise, a New York-based artist, explores similar themes of commodity fetishism in her oil paintings of food. Her 2017 exhibition, “False Beaches and Butter Money,” rendered food as erotic, satirizing the objectification of women in mainstream advertising by making femme fatales sexualize comic products like non-dairy milk. For instance, “Virgo Triennial,” depicts a woman with her legs open, seemingly birthing a sliced watermelon and cradling a carton of Almond Breeze — *Tyra Banks voice* lactose intolerance but make it sexy! The woman is sitting against a bright, mountainous landscape, juxtaposing the mass-produced item she’s intimately carrying with the natural world and also, making a strong case for non-dairy milk carrying as much Freudian significance as its regular counterpart.
“The way food is advertised to us capitalizes on our systems of desire, which often tap into our sexual appetite,” she said in an interview with i-D. “Advertising uses sex to sell just about anything, so we are used to seeing gendered or sexualized foods.”
As cultural storytelling: Fresh Eel From Edo Bay by Katsukawa Shuntei (1770- 1824)
“Fresh Eel From Edo Bay” by Katsukawa Shuntei
Japan’s Edo Period (1603 -1867) is characterized by its stability and abundance. Within this time, Japan’s urban life flourished. Originating in Tokyo, Ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) is an art genre that captured ethereal pleasures such as snowy landscape, the arts, and of course, food. In Katsukawa Shuntei’s tripyth (color print) “Fresh Eel From Edo Baby,” the artist captures the kinetic energy of a restaurant’s kitchen as its workers prepare eel for customers. It’s an expansive window into a different time — you see a woman fanning the skewered eels and men in private rooms, smiling at their meals.
According to art writer Hayashi Ayano, “Eating eel from Edo Bay at the height of summer was a particular delight for the Edoite.” Sweet and savory sweeteners that are used today became very popular and grilled eel became a common side dish for men leisurely downing drinks. While there’s definitely a lot happening in this tripyth, it doesn’t give Hell’s Kitchen vibes. Maybe, going with the Ukiyo-e theme, it can be understood as Heaven’s Kitchen.