Artwork
Kitchen Scene
Kitchen Scene is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Floris van Schooten. It dates from 1622 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1622 by Dutch painter Floris van Schooten, this oil on canvas presents an interior kitchen scene typical of the early‑17th‑century Dutch Golden Age. The work is part of the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst and exemplifies the period’s interest in domestic genre subjects.
Subject & Meaning
At the centre of the composition a woman in a dark dress and apron sits at a table, her right hand raised in a gestural motion while she cradles a bowl of fruit in her left. Before her lies a dead bird, and the tabletop is crowded with apples, grapes, melons and other produce, suggesting themes of abundance, daily labor, and the transient nature of food.
Technique & Style
Van Schooten employs a realistic handling of oil paint, rendering textures—from the sheen of fruit skins to the roughness of the wooden table—with careful chiaroscuro. The muted background, punctuated by a window and a dark curtain, frames the lively foreground and directs the viewer’s eye toward the detailed still‑life elements.
History & Provenance
The painting remained in private hands before entering the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it now resides. Its attribution to van Schooten aligns with his known output of kitchen and breakfast scenes, reinforcing his reputation as a specialist in portraying everyday Dutch interiors.
Context
During the Dutch Golden Age, genre scenes depicting ordinary household activities were popular among the burgeoning middle class. Van Schooten’s focus on kitchen interiors reflects contemporary interests in domestic virtue, the prosperity of trade, and the visual documentation of everyday life.
Artist & collection
Artist
Floris Gerritsz van Schooten or Floris van Schooten (between 1585 and 1588 – buried 14 November 1656) was a Dutch painter who practised in a broad range of still life genres including breakfast pieces, fruit pieces, market scenes and large…
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Young woman peeling a pear at a table with various fruits, an old man with a money bag adressing her
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Still Life, a Breakfast Piece
