Food in Art
From Prehistory to the Renaissance
Distributed for Reaktion Books
288 pages
|
170 color plates, 10 halftones
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7 1/2 x 9 4/5
- Contents
- Review Quotes
Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction
1. Glimpses of Food in the Paleolithic World
2. Eating in the Ancient Middle East: Mesopotamia
3. The Pleasures of Food in Ancient Greece
4. In Ancient Greece and Rome
5. Bright Feasts in the Dark Ages
6. The Middle Ages
7. Realism and Symbolism in the Renaissance Kitchen
8. Late Renaissance Modernity
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
1. Glimpses of Food in the Paleolithic World
2. Eating in the Ancient Middle East: Mesopotamia
3. The Pleasures of Food in Ancient Greece
4. In Ancient Greece and Rome
5. Bright Feasts in the Dark Ages
6. The Middle Ages
7. Realism and Symbolism in the Renaissance Kitchen
8. Late Renaissance Modernity
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Review Quotes
Country Life
“Food in Art shows how paintings teach us about everyday life after other evidence has vanished. Roman frescos and mosaics provide useful information about the use of humble utensils such as strainers, pots, and skillets, which, previously, archaeologists and historians tended to dismiss as ‘possible rituals objects of uncertain use.”
Times Literary Supplement
“A joyful and sumptuously illustrated ramble through visual feasts from the Stone Age to Renaissance Italy.”
Hackney Citizen
“Filtered through Riley’s irreverent, witty, and ever-imaginative style, Food in Art is a guide through the sprawling past of art’s many interpretations of food, from the divine to the profound, and crucially the dark, humorous, and absurd. From the practicality of ancient Egyptian illustrated breadmaking techniques to the strange vanity of Roman mosaic floors designed to look covered in the remnants of a lavish banquet, mice and all, Food in Art calls for some self-reflection.”
Choice
“This lavishly illustrated survey of art depicting food throughout history will surprise and delight readers, who will learn about edible animals, plants, and the culinary arts from unexpected sources such as Paleolithic cave paintings, Mesopotamian seals, Egyptian art, Pompeian frescoes, illuminated manuscripts, and Renaissance paintings.”
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