A Dutch Kitchen Scene
Joachim Beuckelaer (Antwerp c.1533 - Antwerp 1574)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
c. 1560 - 1574
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1168 x 1689 mm
Place of origin
Flanders (Belgium from 1830)
Order this imageCollection
Treasurer's House, North Yorkshire
NT 593114
Summary
Oil painting on panel, A Dutch Kitchen Scene by Joachim Bueckelaer (Antwerp c.1533 – Antwerp 1574). A decorative gilt inner frame and plain outer. Two men and an older woman (all wearing hats) are seated round a young woman who is baking waffles using a large waffle iron. The older man, dressed in a green jerkin and red tunic, bends over the young woman's shoulder as she is reaching to ladle batter from a pot, his right hand reaching under her breast. The older woman in the background is spinning with a distaff, while apparently looking at the man leaning over the young woman and raising a tankard in her right hand. She is assisted in her spinning by the second, younger, man, who wears a red jerkin. He is looking into the middle distance. The young woman wears a white bodice over a dress with orange sleeves and a red skirt. Within this kitchen scene are also fish, cooking utensils, bread and already prepared waffles.
Full description
This work is similar to 'The Pancake Bakery' by Pieter Aertson (1507/8-1575) dated c.1560 (at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Netherlands Acc.No.1006 OK), by whom Bueckelaer was trained (they were also related by marriage). It has been suggested in the past that Aertson may also be the artist here, but the work was always identifed as by Bueckelaer during Frank Green's ownership. Unlike the straight forward kitchen scene shown by Aertson, the Bueckelaer version adds a layer of interaction between the figures and was perhaps intended to have a moral message. An almost identical version of this work, also attributed to Bueckelaer (titled 'Flemish Cooking Scene') ,was sold at auction in Spain in 2017 (Ansorena 6th November 2017, Lot 16)
Provenance
Gift of Francis 'Frank' William Green FSA (1861-1954)
Credit line
Treasurer's House, York, The Frank Green Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Joachim Beuckelaer (Antwerp c.1533 - Antwerp 1574), artist Pieter Aertsen (Amsterdam 1507/8 - Amsterdam 1575), artist