BEUCKELAER, Joachim
(b. 1530, Antwerpen, d. 1574, Antwerpen)

The Well-Stocked Kitchen

1566
Oil on panel, 171 x 250 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

In this well-stocked kitchen, in which the disciples Peter and John are keeping themselves busy, the preparation for the meal are dominated by two preoccupied cooks. Beuckelaer concentrated mainly on the convincing imitation of textures: textiles, vegetables, fruit, poultry and other foods. In his perfectionism he can be considered the forerunner of the 17th-century masters of still-life.

In the background of the painting is the story of Christ in the house of Martha and Mary.