Kitchen Scene with Kitchen Maid Preparing Fish, Christ at Emmaus in the Background, from Kitchen and Market Scenes with Biblical Scenes in the Background 1598 - 1608

This is Jacob Matham's "Kitchen Scene with Kitchen Maid Preparing Fish, Christ at Emmaus in the Background," a print made sometime between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Here, Matham orchestrates a complex interplay of the everyday and the sacred. A kitchen maid and her assistant are busy preparing fish, surrounded by the tools and bounty of their labor. Yet, in the background, we see a depiction of Christ at Emmaus, a scene of spiritual revelation. What does it mean to place the mundane tasks of working-class women alongside a pivotal moment in Christian narrative? The kitchen was the domain of women, a space of labor and sustenance, but also one often overlooked in the grand narratives of history. By juxtaposing these scenes, Matham invites us to consider the value of labor, the role of women in society, and the relationship between the earthly and the divine. The emotional resonance of the image lies in its ability to elevate the ordinary, prompting viewers to find meaning in the everyday moments of their lives.