Paintings As Information
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1985 Paintings as Information: The Anthropology of Images: A Consideration of Late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Netherlandish Painting in Relation to Foodways and Historical Archeology Melissa Payne College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Payne, Melissa, "Paintings as Information: The Anthropology of Images: A Consideration of Late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Netherlandish Painting in Relation to Foodways and Historical Archeology" (1985). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625293. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-5t4z-7d60 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. 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PAINTINGS AS INFORMATION: THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF IMAGES A Consideration of Late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Netherlandish Painting in Relation to Foodways and Historical Archeology A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology The College of William and Mary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Melissa Payne 1985 APPROVAL .SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Author Approved, December 1985 Norman Bark a, Chairman. £ M 4 J 1 a& Rita Aright Marley Brown Colonial Riliiamsburg Foundation ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................ iv LIST OF T A B L E S ................................... v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .......................... vi ABSTRACT ............................................vii INTRODUCTION ..................................... 2 CHAPTER I. ART AS ANTHROPOLOGY................. 7 CHAPTER II. ENGLAND AND THE NETHERLANDS DURING THE 1600's ............. 19 CHAPTER III. USING NETHERLANDISH ART AS DOCUMENTATION -...................... 43 CHAPTER IV. SOME DATA COLLECTION OPTIONS .... 54 CHAPTER V. FOODWAYS: A FEW COMPARATIVE NOTES ....................................... 70 CHAPTER VI. RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND APPLICATIONS .............................. 77 CHAPTER VII. CONCLUSIONS ........................ 115 APPENDIX A ......................................... 125 FOOTNOTES ..........................................136 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................... 141 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer wishes to express her appreciation to Professors Rita Wright and Marley Brown for their swift reactions and insightful criticism. The author is especially indebted to Professor Norman Barka for his guidance and suggestions throughout. Patti Kandle, George Miller, Margaret Pritchard, and Ivor Noel Hume contributed their thoughts as well. Finally I would like to thank my husband David McCain for his consistent encouragement. iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Metal and Ware Type Totals (Food) for 1565-1657 (Al and percentages..........82 2. Metal and Ware Type Totals (Food) for 1657-1700 (A2) and p e r c e n t a g e s ....... 82 3. Beverage Ware Categories and Totals for Peasant/Low Life Scenes (B2) and percentages................................. 82 4. Beverage Ware Categories and Totals for Bourgeois Scenes (B2) and percentages . 82 5. Metal and Ware Type Totals (Food) for Peasant/Low Life Scenes (B3) and percentages................................. 82 6. Metal and Ware Type Totals (Food) for Bourgeois Scenes (B4) and percentages .... 82 7. Graphs comparing Al and A 2 ..................... 8 3 8. Graphs comparing Bl and B 2 ..................... 84 9. Graphs comparing B3 and B 4 ..................... 8 5 v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration Page 1. Silver beaker, Dutch, c. 1646 .............. 30 2. Seventeenth century glass drinking flutes . 41 3. "The Cripples" by Peter B r u e g e l ........... 45 4. "Peasant Wedding" by Peter Bruegel .... 58 5. "Woman Peeling an Apple" by G. Terborch . 59 6. "Still Life" by J. Foppens Van E s ......... 50 7. "Fischverkauferin" by G. M e t s u ............ 61 8. "Young Pastry Cook" by J. Wontersz .... 56 9. "Young Woman Holding a Jug" by Jan M e n s z ............................ 58 10. "Old Woman Saying Grace" by N. Maes .... 89 11. "Mai Babbe" by Franz H a l s .................. 05 12. "Summer" by Peter Bruegel .................. 07 13. "Merry Company" by Pieter Codde ............ 407 14. "The Meal of Oysters" by P. de Hooch . 110 15. "Grace Before the Meal" by A. van Dyck . 112 vi ABSTRACT This study of Netherlandish Paintings in relation to historical archealogy seeks to apply structured research methods to art in order to answer certain questions. Netherlandish painting is well known for its textural realism which makes researching vessel shapes, types of ware, and the behavioral contexts of objects technically possible. Tables are generated using well defined sample groupings to exemplify the use of paintings as period documentation relative to controversies concerning seventeenth century foodways and consumption behaviors in Anglo-America. The relevance of Dutch material culture to English material culture is explored along with attendant economics and cultural issues. Netherlandish art is placed within its appropriate art historical context. The utility of art as documen tation is examined in terms of its advantages and disad vantages while the relationship of art to anthropology is considered. Conclusions consider the results of the surveys as they support or contradict certain interpretations of assemblages current in archeological literature linking alimentation questions to broader statements about seventeenth century Anglo-American culture. vi i PAINTINGS AS INFORMATION: THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF IMAGES A Consideration of Late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Netherlandish Painting in Relation to Foodways and Historical Archeology INTRODUCTION This discussion will focus on the utilization of graphic resources, particularly Netherlandish art, in the interpretation of assemblages current in archeological literature linking alimentation guestions and foodways to broader statements about seventeenth century Anglo- American culture. Archeology in general has been allied with the arts since its beginnings as a formal discipline. Archeologists initially retrieved the ari objects of ancient civilizations, and their expeditions were sponsored by museums expanding their collections. The objects ranged from utilitarian artifacts to aesthetic or sculptural pieces. While they provided a direct association to the cultural group being studied, graphic resources (paintings, frescoes, etc.) are also useful in that they depict both objects and people in specific cultural settings. Graphic resources, therefore, can and do provide the essence of another important relationship between anthropological archeology and art. If paintings can be analyzed by art historians in terms of major stylistic trends and the development of individual creativity, anthropologists can analyze paintings in terms of their role within a specific culture. More importantly in 2 3 this thesis, perhaps, is the vast quantity of information they contain. Paintings have long been understood as sources of data by Ivor Noel Hume, for example, although historical archeologists have not studied them systematically. The utility of paintings and all sorts of imagistic infor mation has long been considered crucial at Colonial Williamsburg where, along with archeological data and primary resources material, total single period recon struction and restoration has been attempted. One could theoretically use a broad and sweeping philosophical approach to treat the subject of paintings and renderings as documentation just in restoration projects, for example. The utility of maps in the appro priate placement of buildings, drawings and paintings of facades and interiors, and period architectural sketches often play an absolutely vital if uncelebrated role. On the other hand, it may also be possible to inventory paintings in a more telescoped, monographic fashion in the search for specific types of information. Therefore, this study will explore the advantages and disadvantages of relying upon paintings using a purposeful selection as a data base. The reasons behind the particular usefulness of Netherlandish art as opposed to other types of artistic production will be reviewed. 4 Attendant political and cultural issues will be pointed out, and the relevance of Dutch material culture to English material culture and Anglo-American sites will be considered in detail. Discrete objects of everyday importance - such as the frequency of food vessel shapes in relation to their material of manufacture in several socio-economic and chronological settings - will be focused upon and related to certain conflicting arguments current in the literature of historical archeology. Interpretations of consumption behaviors as they relate to foodways by James Deetz and Chesapeake archeologists in particular will be compared insofar as the paintings support or contradict their respective positions. Historical archeologists also invest most quantities of time in building typologies of artifacts and then structuring layers