Kitchen Scene

Peter Wtewael

1620s · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

Typical of Dutch genre paintings from the first half of the seventeenth century, Wtewael’s kitchen scene abounds in visual jokes of a frankly erotic nature, such as the prominent display of meat on a skewer. The grins of housemaid and errand boy indicate their enjoyment of one another’s company, while the lavishly depicted foodstuffs surrounding them allude to the pleasures of the flesh. Such combinations of risqué humor with abundant still-life elements had deep roots in Netherlandish painting.

Artist

Peter Wtewael

Date

1620s

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906