c. 1615–20
(Flemish, 1582–1647)
Oil on panel, the reverse prepared with gesso
71.5 x 104 cm (28 1/8 x 40 15/16 in.)
Gift of Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn 2018.258
Hulsdonck thoughtfully included condiments here: butter, lemon, parsley for the trotters, and a dab of mustard for the ham.
Jacob van Hulsdonck depicted a colorful array of foods, and tablewares ranging from an earthenware trencher to delicate Chinese porcelain—an expensive luxury made possible by international trade. For seventeenth-century viewers, the quantity and variety of foods would have represented a utopian world without scarcity or hunger. Partially eaten food and an overturned glass suggest that diners have just departed, leaving insects to explore the remains.
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