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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page essay that analyzes an article by Charlotte Houghton ("This was tomorrow: Pieter Aertsen's Meat tall as Contemporary Art," Art Bulletin, 2004). In her thorough analysis of Pieter Aertsen's sixteenth century masterpiece, "The Meat Stall" painted in Antwerp in 1551, Houghton poses an intriguing thesis. She proposes that this work should be understood within the context of the society and culture in which it was recreated. Houghton points out that works of art that are now incredibly familiar were viewed as novel, shocking and innovating when they were first viewed. Houghton posits that this observation is particularly true in regards to this work and bases this position on a number of well-considered arguments. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khhouaer.rtf
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work should be understood within the context of the society and culture in which it was recreated. Houghton points out that works of art that are now incredibly familiar were
viewed as novel, shocking and innovating when they were first viewed. Houghton posits that this observation is particularly true in regards to this work and bases this position on a
number of well-considered arguments. Houghtons ambition in this article is quite abstract. She wishes to recreate for the reader what it might have meant to a sixteenth century Antwerp
citizen to see this work for the first time, that is, to create a "sense of newness."1 In order to convey her meaning, Houghton draws on an example of modern
art, Richard Hamiltons "What Is It That Makes Todays Homes So Different, So Appealing?" By discussing this work, Houghton shows how the audiences understanding of cultural references, i.e., the Ford
Motor symbol, a Young Romance comic cover framed on the wall, etc., inform the viewers understanding of the work. Houghton then argues that a similar cultural understanding would have informed
the comprehension of Aertsens sixteenth century Antwerp peers. First of all, Houghton points out that incongruity of the subject matter, the great slabs of realistically depicted meat that dominate
the foreground. While the sight of a butcher shop would be quite familiar to Antwerp citizens, Houghton points out that prior to "The Meat Stall," raw meat had never appeared
in a panel painting.2 Like Andy Warhols Campbells soup can, the images are familiar, but out of cultural context and therefore jolting. Also, Houghton argues that the subject, meat, referred
directly to societal dilemma that Antwerp was facing at that time. This involved threats to the long established monopoly that the butchers guild (a strictly regulated, hereditary organization) had on
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