Art exhibition of masterpieces about food

Food in art, from the 17th century to Warhol. In Brescia, a “ten-course” exhibition tells the theme of Expo Milano 2015. From Da Campi to Baschenis, Ceruti to Figino, from Magritte to De Chirico, Manoni to Fontana to Warhol. These are just some of the masters that are on display at “Il cibo nell’arte. Capolavori dei grandi maestri dal Seicento a Warhol” (Food in art. Masterpieces from the great masters from the 17th century to Warhol) an exhibition that will take place in Brescia from January 24 to June 14, 2015.

In line with the theme of Expo Milano 2015, the exhibition, through an iconographic and chronological overview will reveal how the painters, active between the 17th and 19th century, loved painting the foods and dishes of their native lands. It will also be an opportunity to discover foods that have now disappeared.

“Displaying 100 works that focus on food, mostly belonging to Italian art history, from the end of the 16th century to the present day, we forge a strong link with the theme of Expo Milano 2015 – explains exhibition curator Davide Dotti. – It takes the visitor on a journey through art, food and places: the artists were very sensitive to the traditions of their homelands, so for example, Neapolitan paintings often feature the casatiello cake and puff-pastries, Tuscan and Emilian paintings often display cold meats, and in the paintings of the Lombards, game is often present”.

Among the masterpieces on display, the “Ricotta Eaters” by Vincenzo Campi, the “Plate of Peaches” by Ambrogio Figino (the first still life in the history of Italian art, painted around five years before the Fruit Basket of Caravaggio), what experts believe to be the most important counterpart to the still life of Giacomo Ceruti known as Pitocchetto, the “Table with Watermelons” by the pointillist painter Emilio Longoni, and “The Last Supper” by Andy Warhol, an acrylic on canvas that reinterprets Leonardo’s Last Supper in the style of pop art.

“The exhibition is divided into ten sections, which I like to think of as ten courses: the allegory of the five senses, pantries and kitchens; fruit; vegetables; fish and shellfish; game; cold cuts of meat and cheeses; sweet wine and liqueurs; elaborate dinner settings; the food of 20th century art – adds the curator –. To our visitors we offer an artistic menu”. Closing the exhibition tour is an installation by the artist Paola Nizzoli featuring the Food Pyramid.

Source: Expo 2015

Olio Officina