Tastes and Temptations: Food and Art in Renaissance Italy
Fruits and vegetables as erotic metaphors in still life paintings, the Florentine Baptistry replicated in sausage and cheese by Andrea del Sarto, a recipe for fish molded in the shape of a goat, the discovery of an Ovidian scene at the bottom of a soup bowl. A feast for the mind and eye, this beautifully illustrated, compellingly readable book is a rich exploration of the little examined interplay between art and cuisine during the Italian Renaissance. Exploring a dazzling array of art works,...
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"John Varriano's book is not only a delightful read but draws fascinating parallels between two hitherto disparate fields: art history and the history of food in the Renaissance. Outstanding scholarship that opens whole new venues of inquiry."—Ken Albala, author of Eating Right in the Renaissance and Beans: A History"Art history and food history have traditionally been separate disciplines, parallel universes. In this book John Varriano makes a cosmic leap and lures the two into a stimulating, provocative, and always entertaining study—a tasting menu of gastronomic and visual delights."—Gillian Riley, author of The Oxford Companion to Italian Food"With wit and erudition, John Varriano shows us how broad cultural relationships can be drawn between the developments of Italian Renaissance art and the period's growing and changing interest in food. Enlightening and fascinating details greatly enhance our understanding of the roles that taste and temptation played in creating the early modern world."—David G. Wilkins, co-editor of History of Italian Renaissance Art"Appetites for palate and palette are both whetted in Varriano's urbane and thoroughly magisterial study. What could be more satisfying than to feast on food and art together at the same historic table?"—Patrick Hunt, author of Renaissance Visions
Acknowledgments IntroductionParallels in Food and Art 1. Artists and Cooks 2. Regional Tastes Images of Food in Art3. Significant Still Lifes 4. Sacred Suppers 5. Erotic Appetites Food in the Studio, Art at the Table6. Eggs, Butter, Lard, and Oil 7. Eating and Erudition 8. Edible Art Postscript Notes Bibliography List of Illustrations and Credits Index
