Dimensions: unconfirmed: 1510 x 2475 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Sir Nathaniel Bacon's "Cookmaid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit." It's a rather large painting, and I’m struck by the sheer volume of produce. What can you tell us about it? Curator: Notice the stark contrast between the idealized cookmaid and the bounty displayed. This isn't just a still life; it's a careful arrangement that speaks to the labor and materiality of food production and consumption in Bacon's era. Editor: So, it’s less about beauty and more about… the work behind it? Curator: Precisely. Consider the social context. Who produced this food, and for whom? The painting invites us to contemplate these questions and the power dynamics inherent in the act of providing sustenance. Editor: I hadn’t considered the social implications. Curator: Art provides unique insight into power and class.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bacon-cookmaid-with-still-life-of-vegetables-and-fruit-t06995
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Nathaniel Bacon did not paint professionally, although he was a skilled amateur artist. The subject matter of this picture, a cookmaid surrounded with lavish produce, is more usually associated with Dutch and Flemish art. It is highly unusual in England for the period and associated only with Bacon, who may have been influenced by pictures of this type during his travels in the Low Countries. Every item depicted is known to have been growing in England. Bacon himself was a keen gardener and grew melons successfully on his Suffolk estate. Gallery label, February 2016
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