''The Ricotta Eaters'' is a c.1585

oil on canvas Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or copper for several centuries. ...

painting by

Vincenzo Campi Vincenzo Campi (; c.1530/1535–1591) was a 16th-century Italians, Italian painter working in Cremona during the Late Renaissance. Campi is best known as one of the first Northern Italy, northern Italian artists to work in the Flemish painting, F ...

, showing four figures eating a round

ricotta Ricotta () is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein h ...

. The artist himself entitled it ''Buffonaria'', which links its four figures to

Commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

characters, and depicted himself as

Pantalone Pantalone (), spelled Pantaloon in English, is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia dell'arte. With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the ''commedia'' world. His ...

, wearing red costume. In 1875, the work was presented by Jacques Bernard to the

Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (, ) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was res ...

, where it is currently displayed.

Symbolism

The ricotta placed on the tray appears to form an image of the skull, symbolizing

memento mori (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")

, a reminder of death, in an atmosphere characterised by excess and abandon.

References

External links

''The Ricotta Eaters'' at Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricotta Eaters Italian paintings Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon 1580 paintings Food and drink paintings Memento mori Commedia dell'arte Ricotta eaters