Something Fishy Going On
Joachim Beuckelaer (Netherlandish, 1533–1575). Fish Market, 1568. Oil on Baltic oak, 50 3/8 x 68 1/2 in. (128 x 174 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift and Bequest of George Blumenthal, by exchange, 2015 (2015.146)
«One of my favorite pastimes when traveling is to visit open-air markets, especially those stacked high with colorful fruits and vegetables, local dairy products, freshly butchered meats, and bounty from the sea. In this respect, Joachim Beuckelaer's Fish Market—on view through March 26 in the exhibition European Paintings: Recent Acquisitions 2015–16—has a remarkably modern sensibility. The exquisitely painted salmon, cod, carp, pike, and herring, so artfully displayed in the foreground, have a visual immediacy that cannot be ignored by any viewer. »
Under closer scrutiny, the picture can also be appreciated for the extraordinary facility and directness of the brushwork. Impasto dabs and scratched-in passages, particularly on the pike, marvelously describe the tactile qualities of the fish's scaly skin and its fleshy, lifelike quality.
Open-air markets are not only useful for shopping for the day's provisions; they also offer highly entertaining opportunities for people-watching. And here, in Beuckelaer's painting, something fishy is going on. Notice how the old fishmonger, about to make another slice through the succulent salmon, warily eyes the middle-aged housewife to his left. She, in turn, resolutely crosses her hands over the small open vessel on the table before her, as if to signal her response to any untoward advances from the old man.
The other women shoppers, gossiping in the background, are unaware of the drama taking place. We are privy to a momentary exchange, the type that goes on constantly at open air markets. You just have to be there to catch it!
Related Links
European Paintings: Recent Acquisitions 2015–16, on view at The Met Fifth Avenue through March 26, 2017
Now at The Met: View all blog articles related to this exhibition.
MetCollects (Episode 9 / 2016): "Fish Market by Joachim Beuckelaer"
Maryan Ainsworth
Curator Emerita Maryan Ainsworth received her BA and MA in Art History from Oberlin College and her PhD from Yale University. A Museum staff member since 1977, she has specialized in the technical examination of paintings, initially in the Department of Paintings Conservation and subsequently as curator in European Paintings. Her publications and exhibitions include monographic studies on Bouts, Christus, David, Gossart, and Coecke van Alest, as well as the Met's early German paintings. Maryan is an adjunct professor at Barnard College, and she has been awarded the titles of Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Couronne (2001) and Chevalier de l'Ordre de Léopold (2011), bestowed by King Albert II of Belgium.