Feasting on Art

The reduction of the genre of still life to its title produces a problem between languages.  In English, the name ‘still life’ carries certain connotations.  The word ‘life’ produces the idea of movement; the subject is living and has been captured or stilled within the painting.  The title creates the idea that ‘still life’ is a captured moment, perhaps a ‘snapshot’ of one’s Sunday dinner.  This name is entirely misleading, the still life genre often depicts fish, animals, plants, and commodities – all of which are dead.  The name still life is ironic, because life that has been stilled is death.  As French artist, Manet would have used the French title nature morte, which literally translates to dead nature.  The genre was previously known as vie coye, which roughly translates to ‘silent life.’ (1) The distinction between still life and dead nature is important.  Manet was certainly aware of the English title ‘still life,’ and this becomes apparent in the strange dichotomy in the painting between life and death.  The central image of the fish with its tail suspended in time embodies the living/dead aspect.  The fish looks like it is dead with its mouth gaping and eye bulging, yet the broad sweeping brushstrokes and tail flipped into the air, mentioned earlier, suggests movement and thus life.  This embodiment of the tension within the title of the genre is an aspect of painting unique to Manet.

Édouard Manet, Fish (Still Life), 1864
oil on canvas, 32.1 x 73.4 cm, The Art Institute of Chicago

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When I was a child my hatred for mustard was very well-known. My brother used to torment me by putting it on my bedroom door knob so the smell would be on my hands. It was not until I moved to London and discovered the seeded variety (I only knew of the yellow American kind) that I became obsessed in a good way. At one point I had seven different jars in my fridge (see photo at the bottom of post). I am always looking for new recipes that feature mustard and so I was quite pleased when I stumbled upon this little gem. I made the palmiers for breakfast and they disappeared very quickly. My mother is adverse to mustard (I wonder where I got it from…) and so I made an additional batch with just the ham and cheese which were just as good (but not better!). They would also make a great bite-size appetizer as they are not too filling.

Édouard Manet, The Ham, 1875
oil on canvas, 13 x 16 cm, The Glasgow Museum

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I was given the opportunity along with a handful of other food bloggers to submit a guest post to the wonderful site The Kitchn. The cake was so good that I decided I had to post the recipe here too. This is the second time I have worked with a still life by Manet and you can find most of the general information about his life and art in my previous post. I would like to give a big thanks to The Kitchn and I hope you enjoy.

I have been saving this still life for a very special post and a very special day. It is the perfect cake for afternoon tea and with my house guests leaving tomorrow, I thought it would be an appropriate send off with its delectably moist centre and very delicate crumb. The grapes dotting the cake are beautiful in the afternoon sunlight when the light seems to glow from within their semi-translucent skin. I used both red grapes (little surprises found throughout) and green and discovered that pooling a bit of honey around the tart little fruits peeking out above the cake makes this afternoon treat even more irresistible.

Édouard Manet, Fruits on a Table (Fruits sur une Table), 1864,
oil on canvas, 45 x 73.5 cm, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

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For this post we are back to France and on to another artist. I love art but if I had to declare my love for one artist in particular it would be Édouard Manet. In my undergraduate course I did my entire postseminar work on his still life painting Fish (which should give you some indication of my love for still life painting) where he took the phrase nature morte (French for still life which translates to dead nature) literally. Within my paper I incorporated other works by Manet including Asparagus and A Bunch of Asparagus.

Édouard Manet, A Bunch of Asparagus, 1880
Oil on canvas, 46 x 55 cm, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum (Germany)

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