Culinary Historians NY: Gastronomy in Paintings, 4/29

Culinary Historians of New York
and
The Culinary Arts Committee of the National Arts Club
present

Gastronomy in the Still-life Paintings of Luis Meléndez
with Gillian Riley

Thursday, April 29, 2010
National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South,
New York, NY 10003

7:30 pm Check-In and Reception | 8:00 pm Lecture

Join British culinary historian Gillian Riley, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject of food in art, for a fresh look at the still-life paintings of Spanish painter Luis Meléndez (1715–1780), on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at the National Arts Club.

Melendez's paintings, long admired for their stunning technique and composition, are now being appreciated for their gastronomic content as well. In many of his paintings, what at first seems to be a random selection of objects tipped out on a kitchen table is in fact a rigorous, perfectionist arrangement of items illustrating a precise theme: a meal, a recipe, or a gastronomic event. He presents the ingredients for a gazpacho, a salad, a dessert of fresh and preserved fruit—or in some paintings, a hint of a whole meal, with fresh crusty bread, jamón, and figs, or a composition of young cheese, fruit, and dessert wine.

Gillian Riley’s books include The Oxford Companion to Italian Food, The Dutch Table: Gastronomy in the Golden Age of the Netherlands, and A Feast for the Eyes: Evocative Recipes and Surprising Tales Inspired by Paintings in the National Gallery, as well as translations of The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy by Giacomo Casttelvetro and the Libro de Arte Coquinaria of Maestro Martino.

Location:
National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South (between Park Avenue and Irving Place)
New York, NY 10003
Time:
7:30 pm Check-In and Reception | 8:00 pm Lecture
Fee:
$40 Non-Members and Guests | $25 CHNY Members
For further information, see http://www.culinaryhistoriansny.org/events.html
To buy tickets securely online, go to: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/7199
To reserve a place and pay at the door, contact Events at http://www.culinaryhistoriansny.org/events.html

Upcoming Program:
May 19: Jeri Quinzio, “Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice-cream Making”