A Bite of Art - Culinary Delights
Guided Tour | In english
To participate in this event, you also need an entrance ticket!
Breakfast Still Life, Cornelis de Heem, about 1660/69
Auf kleinem Format wird hier sinnenfroh eine Fülle von Früchten, Formen und Farben dargeboten, die durch Austern, Brot und eine Silberdose bereichert wird. Die Taschenuhr links vorne setzt einen wohl allegorisch zu deutenden Akzent: sie kann als Hinweis auf Vergänglichkeit gedeutet werden. In Verbindung mit Essensdarstellungen kommt ihr aber oft auch eine andere Bedeutung zu: eine Anspielung auf „das rechte Maß halten“, das beim Essen notwendig ist.
Title:
Breakfast Still Life
Artist:
Cornelis de Heem (1631 Leiden - 1695 Antwerpen)
Time:
about 1660/69
Infos zur Führung
Food is wonderful, especially in art. Starting at Easter 2026, the Kunsthistorisches Museum will be taking visitors on a culinary journey through the Picture Gallery with a new themed trail.
Using selected masterpieces such as Bruegel’s Peasant Wedding, Jordaens’ Feast of the Bean King and other appetising examples, the tour traces the long tradition of depicting food and drink in art. Culinary delights, hunting successes, celebrations, or even deaths – food as a symbol of transience and finitude are just as much a theme as market scenes as a symbol of God’s rich creation.
Food and drink is a universal theme in art that has a long tradition dating back to the earliest creative expressions of humankind. Meals were much more than just a basic need and the regular intake of food.
It was also an expression of social status, power, wealth, and a pious way of life. It was a social and culinary event that people elevated to a multifaceted pleasure and staged experience.
Meeting Point
Entrance hall of the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna
Important information about the visit
We look forward to your visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum!
