This furry tea service was a touchstone for Surrealism, but the artist was a victim of her own success.
Food + drink
No wonder Ruysch treats each element of this still life like a scientific specimen—her father preserved insects.
Rachel Ruysch, Fruit and Insects
By putting this in the museum, we see this as art. But what if it weren’t there?
Why is this art? Andy Warhol, Campbell’s ...
In this complicated image, Hals investigates madness. The rapidity of his brushwork heightens the viewer’s unease.
Frans Hals, Malle Babbe
This gorgeous painting is rich in color—and with possibility. Can the woman stay sober? Will the man succeed?
Johannes Vermeer, The Glass of Wine
Oldenburg’s wonderfully floppy, sloppy cake is filthy, humorous, and not at all edible.
Claes Oldenburg, Floor Cake
A waitress masters the modern art of multitasking in this lively, bustling bar scene.
Édouard Manet, Corner of a Café-Concert
Realism’s original bad boy put a naked woman in a picnic scene, and the critics were not happy about it.
Édouard Manet, Le déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon ...
This somber image elevates the simple life and pares down painting to just light and line.
Antoine or Louis Le Nain, Peasant Family ...
Renoir depicts his friends in a chaotic scene—showing an increased interest in the three-dimensionality of figures.
Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party
Hopper gives us a window into the urban isolation and anxiety of WWII-era New York.
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks
A life-size metallic garden at the Qorikancha included these corn cobs, llamas, and other offerings.
Maize cobs
This composition is bold and original. Front and center, a meat stall steals the spotlight from a religious scene.
Pieter Aertsen, Meat Stall
Love, fear, indignation, and grief. Leonardo weaves together a wide spectrum of human emotion.
Leonardo, Last Supper
By the nineteenth century, the still life was an outmoded and undervalued subject—but Cezanne brought it back.
Paul Cézanne, The Basket of Apples
Whichever way you slice it, that’s one inscrutable melon. Does it symbolize geometry, astronomy, or empire?
Juan Sanchez de Cotán, Quince, Cabbage, Melon ...
Naughty or nice? With characteristic wit, Steen depicts the joys and disappointments of a festive morning.
Jan Steen, Feast of St. Nicholas
No splashes of wine stain this luxurious book! Its 56 miniatures illustrate the story of Passover.
The Golden Haggadah
Etruscan funerals were a celebration, where the living could share a final meal with the deceased.
Tomb of the Triclinium
This pot depicts contrasting scenes: on one side a Trojan hero heads to war, and on the other tipsy revelers dance.
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