A Fish Market with the Miraculous Catch of Fish

Artist Flemish

Artistpossibly attributed to Joachim Beuckelaer (Flemish, about 1533–1574)

Datepossibly early 1560s

Mediumoil on oak panel

Dimensionspanel: 123.8 x 174.6 cm (48 3/4 x 68 3/4 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1955.217

Label TextIn the far background, Jesus appears on a boat, probably a reference to the miraculous catch of fish which attracted several apostles to his service, as described in the New Testament Gospel of Luke. Most of the picture, however, shows a contemporary fish market, part of the first wave of still-life painting in European art. By placing front and center an excess of food and a blatant sexual reference in the form of a finger inside a salmon steak, works such as this one gave a moralizing subtext to the celebration of a flourishing marketplace.ProvenanceHoward Mann, Worcester, MA; Raymond S. Mentzer, Worcester MA

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