Getty Museum
Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit, and a Cockatoo
Creator
Adriaen van UtrechtFlemish Artist · 1599–1652
All works by this person →A master of still lifes, Adriaen van Utrecht painted pantry scenes, fish markets, and numerous varieties of fruits, vegetables, and game birds. His scenes typically illustrated a gluttonous bounty of edible delights that overflow from the table onto the floor. Van Utrecht is known to have collaborated with other artists, who hired him to fill in the still life portions of their canvases. Van Utrec
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- 1650
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Culture
- Flemish
- Department
- Paintings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
On the back of a chair a white cockatoo perches, greedily eyeing the fruit--cherries, figs, grapes, peaches, and pears--that is piled below. Suspended from a metal game crown are birds and a hare; below, more game birds are placed haphazardly on the table. Closer to the viewer, artichokes, cabbages, a watermelon, and vegetable squash are thrown carelessly upon a dark tablecloth. In this abundant display of foodstuffs, Adriaen van Utrecht took great care in juxtaposing different surfaces: translucent grape skins, fruit rinds, bird feathers, rabbit fur, thorny artichoke leaves, and rich velvet cloth. Behind the still life, a window opens to an outside view. No figures are shown, but signs of human presence are everywhere; the gastronomical display on the table describes nature as tamed by man.
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