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1551
A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms
Artist: Pieter Aertsen
This monumental canvas is dominated by a still life in the foreground which depicts a variety of food stuffs – from sausage links to herring to dead poultry to a large cow’s head in the lower center. This plethora shows the wealth and plenty available to the thriving Dutch middle class while simultaneously evoking the sensual appetites of material life, contrasted with the moral and religious scenes in the background.
Left of center and glimpsed through the meat stall, the Holy Family is depicted on their flight into Egypt, as Mary, mounted on a donkey and holding the infant Jesus, stops and turns to give alms. At the edge of the road, a line of villagers walks toward the church, depicted on the left, and though some turn to look at the Holy Family, most continue on their way, indifferent to both the presence of Christ and the plight of the poor. 0 reply
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