An imaginary museum of bread – Anne Le Cozannet-Renan (tableaux)

Bread seen through the eyes of the greatest artists, painters and photographers

Bread belongs to the daily lives of women and men for thousands of years, since they are made farmers, millers, bakers, bread eaters. Depending on cereals implemented, ways of fermentation, work of shaping, types of cooking, we gave birth to an infinity of breads which are printed in the depths of our psyche. Bread has become part of our language and our dreams.

Over time a grammar of forms has been developed that artists have taken. From religious to food, painters and after them photographers catch the baking materialities and in the same time open for us these hinterlands where bread means more than bread. By showing bread eaters in their daily life, artists say their conditions, their struggles and aspirations. They say the “spirit” of bread.

Since 2010, Anne Le Cozannet-Renan began a long work about art history and identified the artists who capture faithfully the “spirit” of bread. She published with Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, L’Ami intime, un musée imaginaire du pain, Flammarion, 2014

 

Balthasar Denner (German painter, 1685- 1749),
A glass of beer and a bread roll on a table, 18th century

Balthasar Denner (peintre allemand, 1685- 1749),
Verre de bière et petit pain sur une table, 18ème siècle

 

Karel Slabbaert, (Dutch painter, 1640-1654),
Breakfast, Rijksmuseum, 17th Century

Karel Slabbaert, (peintre hollandais, 1640-1654),
Le petit déjeuner, Rijksmuseum, 17ème siècle

 

Tomás Hiepes (Spanish painter, 1610-1674),
Sweetmeats and dried fruits on a table, 1600-1635, Museo Nacional del Prado

Tomás Hiepes (peintre espagnol, 1610- 1674),
Friandises et fruits secs sur une table, 1600-1635, Museo Nacional del Prado

 

François-Emile Barraud (Swiss painter,1899-1934),
Still life with carafe of wine, bread and glasses, c. 1930

François-Emile Barraud (peintre suisse, 1899-1934),
Nature morte avec carafe de vin, pain et lunettes, 1930

 

Luis Meléndez (Spanish painter, 1716-1780),
A Dessert Still-Life with Bread, Jelly Boxes and Two Honey Pots, 18th Century, Private Collection

Luis Meléndez (peintre espagnol, 1716-1780),
Nature morte avec pain, boîtes de gelée et deux pots de miel, 18ème siècle, collection privée

 

Suzanne Valadon (French painter, 1865-1938),
Still life with fruit basket, 1917

Suzanne Valadon (peintre française, 1865-1938),
Nature morte à la corbeille de fruits, 1917

 

Jan Eversen (Dutch artist, 1906-1995)
‘A still life with cheese, bread, butter and wine’, 1963

 

Luis Egidio Meléndez (Spanish painter, 1716-1780)
‘Still life with Bread, Apples, Cheese, a bottle and a cooler’, 1772

 

René Magritte (Belgian painter, 1898-1967)
The French baguette in ‘L’avenir’, 1936

 

Luis Egidio Meléndez (Spanish painter, 1716-1780)
‘Still life with bowl of plums, figs and crown shaped bread’, Second half of the 18th Century

 

Sam Uhrdin (Swedish painter, 1886-1964), Baking bread, 1917
Sam Uhrdin (peintre suédois, 1886-1964), la fabrication du pain, 1917

 

Jacob van Hulsdonckn (Flemish painter, 1582- 1647), Still life with raisins, apricots and plums in a porcelain dish, 1620s
Jacob van Hulsdonckn (peintre flamand, 1582- 1647), Nature morte aux raisins, abricots et prunes dans un plat de porcelaine, 1620s

 

Paula Modersohn-Becker (German painter, 1876–1907), Still life with milk, 1905
Paula Modersohn-Becker (peintre allemande, 1876–1907), Nature morte à l’écuelle de lait, 1905

 

Luis Meléndez (Spanish painter, 1716–1780), The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda), 1772
Luis Meléndez (peintre espagnol, 1716–1780), La collation (La Merienda), 1772

 

Paul Sérusier (French painter, 1864-1927), Still life with blue bowls, 1923
Paul Sérusier (peintre français, 1864-1927), Nature morte aux bols bleus, 1923

 

Anne Vallayer-Coster (French painter, 1744-1818), the white jug, 1810
Anne Vallayer-Coster (peintre français,1744-1818), La jatte blanche, 1810

 

Anne Vallayer-Coster, (French painter, 1744-1818), Still life with parsnips, a loaf of bread, eggs and a bottle on a stone ledge, 1774
Anne Vallayer-Coster, (peintre français, 1744-1818), Nature morte aux radis, miche de pain, oeufs et bouteille sur rebord en pierre, 1774

 

Zinaida Serebriakova (Russian painter 1884-1967), Still Life with Apples and bread, 1948
Zinaida Serebriakova (peintre russe, 1884-1967), Nature morte aux ppaniers de pommes et miche, 1948

---

---