Sunday 1 June 2008

Snyders The Pantry


Snyders Pantry is set in the kitchen of a vast house. A maidservant, who may have been painted by Cornelis de Vos, is carrying a tray full of quails and crowned with a pheasant. She is looking at a large rectangular table spilling over with victuals. The painting is organised on several levels around a white swan, whose body and outstretched wings occupy the centre of the scene. Next to it, a gutted roebuck is hanging by one paw from a hook. A lobster, a peacock and some birds are laid out on the table. A wicker basket spilling over with fruit and a copper basin with quarters of meat add to the impression of abundance. From a rack at the top hang two salmon steaks, birds and two hares. In the left foreground, a plate of oysters is placed on a bench, while, to the far right, a wicker basked is laden profusely with fruits and vegetables.