Table Setting 

Dan Graziano painted this still life, "Table Setting," in oil on canvas. At first glance, it's simply a humble arrangement of everyday objects: cutlery, salt and pepper shakers, a napkin. Yet, such depictions of commonplace items have a rich history, particularly in periods of social change. Consider the Dutch Golden Age, where similar paintings reflected a rising merchant class and their embrace of domestic comforts. What, then, does Graziano's painting tell us about our own time? Perhaps it's a comment on the accessibility of fine dining or a reflection on the rituals of eating in contemporary society. As art historians, we might explore the changing role of restaurants in American life, using sociological studies and historical restaurant menus to understand the values associated with the act of eating out. The meaning of this painting will always be contingent on its cultural and historical context, which is what makes art history so endlessly fascinating.