[Sca-cooks] Re: Odd looking things in paintings

[Daniel Myers]

On Feb 28, 2005, at 11:08 AM, Johnna Holloway wrote:

> Daniel Myers wrote:
>
>>> Howdy,
>>> In the paintings below, there are these things that look something 
>>> (but not completely) like a baby brie cut in half.  Any ideas what 
>>> they are?
>>>
>>> Here they're on the tray on the table
>>> http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/aria/sk/z/sk-a-3.z
>>
>> I think cheese here.

I'd think so too, but I couldn't rule out butter or some sort of tart 
or who knows what all else.

>>> There's only one here - leaning on a pitcher - I'd think it was a 
>>> mushroom cap, but the inside doesn't look right.
>>> http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/aria/sk/z/sk-a-4821.z
>
> I think that's just a roll of bread myself. The cheeses here are 
> stacked
> behind in the pile. Take a look at the work titled The Baker-- it's on 
> the front cover
> of Matters of Taste.  www.peterrose.com/ lectures.html 
> <http://www.peterrose.com/lectures.html>
> or see the page: www.rnw.nl/culture/ html/taste021031.html 
> <http://www.rnw.nl/culture/html/taste021031.html>

You might be right here.  I found a larger copy of "The Baker" at the 
web gallery (see URL) and the thing in the basket looks very much like 
the think leaning against the pitcher.  That top surface still looks 
funky for a roll - what kind of treatment would do that?

http://www.wga.hu/art/b/berckhey/job/baker.jpg


>>> At the butcher's, lower center - there's one white, one beige, and 
>>> two that are reddish-brown (if it's brie then Yuck!).
>>> http://www.wga.hu/art/a/aertsen/butchers.jpg
>
> I thought cheeses here although after looking at some other works, I 
> think the darker brown ones
> might be the rusks, although perhaps flat blood puddings might better 
> fit in with the scene of a butcher's
> shop. Peter Rose in Matters of Taste identifies similiar looking flat 
> foodstuffs as rusks, such as those that are
> pictured in Clara Peeters Still Life with Crab, shrimp, and lobster. 
> It was on the web as it was
> in the Albany show, but it's been taken down. It's in the book on page 
> 109.

It's the placement of the things that makes me question that they're a 
bread.  Why would there be a small tray of rusks at a butcher's stall.  
Butter, marrow, schmaltz, tallow, congealed blood - heck, even cow snot 
- all would seem more likely than breads to be for sale at the 
butcher's.

Also, in the "Egg Dance" painting, there are rolls already out sitting 
on the individual plates, yet there are two identical thingies at the 
center of the table on a patter by themselves.

I also don't think they're halves of a cut cheese.  if you look closely 
at the ones in "Egg Dance", the cream-colored stuff doesn't seem to 
fill the shell up all the way.

Ok, I'll go on the record as being fairly certain it's not cow snot.  
Other than that, I'm still leaning towards butter or schmaltz (though 
the shell/rind is also rather mystifying).

- Doc


-- 
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  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  Pasciunt, mugiunt, confidiunt.
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