Artwork
Kitchen Still Life
Kitchen Still Life is an oil painting by the Spanish Baroque Tenebrist artist Mateo Cerezo. It dates from 1664 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Mateo Cerezo's Kitchen Still Life, painted in 1664, is a still life genre work that belongs to the bodegón tradition of Spanish painting, depicting everyday foodstuffs arranged in a kitchen setting. The work shows bread as a depicted element, a humble staple that in Spanish still life painting carries symbolic weight, often evoking themes of sustenance, domestic life, and Eucharistic resonance rooted in Catholic devotional imagery. By focusing on ordinary kitchen fare rather than luxury objects, the painting aligns with the austere, contemplative character typical of mid-17th-century Spanish still life, where modest subject matter is used to convey spiritual and moral reflection through the careful observation of everyday things.
The composition, measuring 100 cm in height by 127 cm in width, presents its subject with the restrained dignity characteristic of the genre, inviting the viewer to find meaning in the commonplace. Held by the Museo del Prado, the painting reflects Cerezo's engagement with the still life tradition in which simple objects become vehicles for meditation on nourishment, transience, and the sacred dimensions of daily life.
Technique & Style
As a genre painting classified within the still life tradition, the piece depicts domestic items, specifically including bread.
Mateo Cerezo's Kitchen Still Life, created in 1664, is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 100 cm in height and 127 cm in width. As a genre painting classified within the still life tradition, the piece depicts domestic items, specifically including bread.
The handling of the medium and the formal qualities align with the artist's approach to the subject matter during this period.
History & Provenance
Kitchen Still Life is an oil painting on canvas created by the Spanish artist Mateo Cerezo. The work was completed in 1664, a date established as the definitive year of inception for the piece. Measuring 100 cm in height and 127 cm in width, the still life depicts bread and other kitchen elements characteristic of the genre.
The painting is currently held in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it remains part of the institution's permanent holdings. No specific details regarding earlier ownership chains, commissioning patrons, or the circumstances of its creation prior to its current museum attribution are provided in the available records.
The painting is held by the Museo del Prado, Madrid, where it is inventoried as oil on canvas, 100 cm high by 127 cm wide. It entered the museum’s holdings as part of its permanent collection and has not been recorded in documented temporary exhibitions in the sources consulted.
Overview
Created in 1664 by Spanish Baroque painter Mateo Cerezo, Kitchen Still Life is an oil on canvas that belongs to the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The work exemplifies the artist’s interest in everyday objects, presenting a modest yet detailed arrangement of foodstuffs and kitchen utensils rendered with a dramatic play of light and shadow.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Mateo Cerezo, sometimes referred to as Mateo Cerezo the younger, (19 April 1637, Burgos – 29 June 1666, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque painter, known primarily for religious works and still-lifes.
