Publication: “Comer con los ojos”: la dieta mediterránea en la pintura española de los siglos XVII y XVIII
Authors
Ruiz López, María Pilar
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Escuela Internacional de Doctorado
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Peña Velasco, Concepción de la
Publisher
Universidad de Murcia
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
Description
Abstract
Esta investigación analiza la representación del alimento en la pintura española de los siglos XVII y XVIII. El estudio se centra en el papel de la imagen como fuente para el análisis de prácticas, saberes y valores vinculados a la alimentación, en relación con la Dieta Mediterránea como Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial. Lejos de concebirse como una construcción contemporánea desvinculada del pasado, este patrimonio se apoya en un legado histórico de larga duración, hoy progresivamente desplazado por otros modelos de vida. Desde esta perspectiva, la alimentación se aborda como un fenómeno sociocultural complejo, cuyo significado excede el ámbito estrictamente nutricional.
La tesis se fundamenta en el análisis de un amplio corpus integrado por cerca de mil pinturas españolas en las que el alimento aparece como motivo principal o integrado en composiciones de diversa naturaleza, alcanzando su máxima expresión en el género del bodegón. Sobre esa base, la pintura se examina como una fuente histórica capaz de aportar información relevante sobre productos, usos culinarios, cultura material y valores simbólicos asociados a la alimentación en la España moderna.
El estudio combina un estudio cuantitativo de la frecuencia visual de los alimentos con una lectura cualitativa interdisciplinar, apoyada en tratados dietéticos, recetarios y otros textos de la época. Este enfoque permite contextualizar las obras y reflexionar sobre el potencial y los límites de la pintura como documento histórico, teniendo en cuenta la distancia existente entre la visibilidad pictórica de los alimentos y su consumo real.
A lo largo del trabajo se examinan los principales grupos alimentarios identificados en el corpus, así como las escenas que permiten abordar aspectos como la comensalidad o la sostenibilidad. El análisis ha permitido reconocer la presencia distintas variedades de alimentos y determinadas narrativas visuales en torno a su combinación y disposición, que remiten a prácticas culinarias y valores culturales propios de la España moderna. En este sentido, los artistas, a través de la observación de su entorno, plasmaron aspectos significativos de la realidad material y simbólica de su tiempo, dejando testimonios de notable valor documental. De este modo, la pintura barroca española no muestra de manera directa dicho modelo alimentario, sino que participa activamente en la construcción de su imaginario visual, cuyos significados siguen proyectándose en la actualidad. Desde esta perspectiva, la investigación supera la mera descripción de la representación alimentaria y plantea la imagen como una herramienta para reconstruir la memoria culinaria y comprender la dimensión patrimonial de la dieta mediterránea en España.
This research analyses the representation of food in Spanish painting of the 17th and 18th centuries. The study focuses on the role of image as a source for the analysis of practices, knowledge, and values related to food, in connection with the Mediterranean diet as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Far from being understood as a contemporary construct detached from the past, this heritage is rooted in a long-standing historical legacy, which has been progressively displaced by other ways of life. From this perspective, food is approached as a complex sociocultural phenomenon whose meaning goes beyond the strictly nutritional sphere. The thesis is grounded in the analysis of a broad corpus comprising nearly one thousand Spanish paintings in which food appears either as the main subject or as an integrated element within compositions of diverse nature, reaching its fullest expression in the genre of still life. On this basis, painting is examined as a historical source capable of providing relevant information on products, culinary practices, material culture and symbolic values associated with food in early modern Spain. The study combines a quantitative analysis of the visual frequency of food with an interdisciplinary qualitative reading supported by dietary treatises, recipe books, and normative texts from the period. This approach makes it possible to contextualise the artworks and to reflect on both the potential and the limitations of painting as a historical document, taking into account the distance between the pictorial visibility of food and its actual consumption. Throughout the study, the main food groups present in the corpus are examined, as well as the scenes that allow the analysis of aspects such a commensality or sustainability. The analysis has made it possible to identify different varieties of food and specific visual narratives concerning their combination and arrangement, which refer to culinary practices and cultural values characteristic of early modern Spain. In this sense, artists, through the observation of their surroundings, depicted significant aspect of the material and symbolic reality of their time, leaving visual testimonies of notable documentary value. Thus, Spanish Baroque painting does not directly document this dietary model, but rather actively participates in the construction of its visual imaginary, whose meanings continue to resonate in contemporary culture. From this perspective, the research goes beyond a mere description of food representation and proposes recognising the image as a tool for reconstructing culinary memory and for understanding the heritage dimension of the Mediterranean diet in Spain.
This research analyses the representation of food in Spanish painting of the 17th and 18th centuries. The study focuses on the role of image as a source for the analysis of practices, knowledge, and values related to food, in connection with the Mediterranean diet as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Far from being understood as a contemporary construct detached from the past, this heritage is rooted in a long-standing historical legacy, which has been progressively displaced by other ways of life. From this perspective, food is approached as a complex sociocultural phenomenon whose meaning goes beyond the strictly nutritional sphere. The thesis is grounded in the analysis of a broad corpus comprising nearly one thousand Spanish paintings in which food appears either as the main subject or as an integrated element within compositions of diverse nature, reaching its fullest expression in the genre of still life. On this basis, painting is examined as a historical source capable of providing relevant information on products, culinary practices, material culture and symbolic values associated with food in early modern Spain. The study combines a quantitative analysis of the visual frequency of food with an interdisciplinary qualitative reading supported by dietary treatises, recipe books, and normative texts from the period. This approach makes it possible to contextualise the artworks and to reflect on both the potential and the limitations of painting as a historical document, taking into account the distance between the pictorial visibility of food and its actual consumption. Throughout the study, the main food groups present in the corpus are examined, as well as the scenes that allow the analysis of aspects such a commensality or sustainability. The analysis has made it possible to identify different varieties of food and specific visual narratives concerning their combination and arrangement, which refer to culinary practices and cultural values characteristic of early modern Spain. In this sense, artists, through the observation of their surroundings, depicted significant aspect of the material and symbolic reality of their time, leaving visual testimonies of notable documentary value. Thus, Spanish Baroque painting does not directly document this dietary model, but rather actively participates in the construction of its visual imaginary, whose meanings continue to resonate in contemporary culture. From this perspective, the research goes beyond a mere description of food representation and proposes recognising the image as a tool for reconstructing culinary memory and for understanding the heritage dimension of the Mediterranean diet in Spain.
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