Food has been used as 'subject' in photography and the methods, equipment and overall style within this genre have changed since the early days of still lit photography.
Before looking at food photography, we should look at still life paintings. There are many key aspects used by still life painters that have been taken up by contemporary food photographers.
For example, aspects of realism, painterly skill, effects of light, composition and arrangement, allegory (a story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.) and meaning, and indicators of lifestyle and class were all elements of modern still life painting that are mirrored in commercial food photography today.
Still life paintings of the 17th century to draw attention to food as having 'natural beauty', which was distinguished by still life painters of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Still life paintings were commissioned by the wealthy, so the commissioners had more control over the paintings than the painters themselves. The painters were required for their skill, which was assessed by their aesthetic choices and their meticulous arrangement of objects.
Food was often used as the subject matter, as it allowed painters to meet everything the commissioners wanted from the paintings.
Rome and cities of the Netherlands and Northern France were the leading regions of still life painting, focusing on tables loaded with a variety of fresh food.
Spanish still life focused on just a few kinds of food in a small area.
In England, there were many conventions in the display of food and drink in still life paintings, there was no human interaction at the table, seemingly making the food more attainable to a viewer.
Dutch painters of the 17th century piled delicious food on glorious table coverings.
Paintings like these were used to reinforce the idea that having plenty in the larder was a sign of wealth, since they displayed indicators of class and status associated with the wealthy at the time, a significant historical point when then assessing contemporary food photography.
The key aspects mentioned earlier carried over in the 18th century.
Most cookery books in the 19th century started off using drawings for illustrating the food, but by the late 19th century black and white photographs began to appear in the early printed cookery books, however the process was slow.
As photography became a popular medium, advancements in printing techniques paved the way for easier production.
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