Espela, Jochen Karl C.

06/24/19

CA 2A1-1 FDSD211

History of Food Styling

Food's complexity of form and value - and with the fact that it's often have made it the most-
photographed subject throughout the history of photography. Enthusiasm in both food
photography and the food itself as a subject has risen in the past few years, but food photography
isn't a new thing, it is however started to appear in the early of 19th century. There are many key
aspects of interest painters used that were later taken up by contemporary food photographers.
Aspects of realism, painterly skill, effects of light, composition and arrangement, allegory and
meaning, and indicators of lifestyle and class were all elements of modern of still life painting
that are mirrored in commercial food photography today. 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.
Similarly, artists in Florence kept this simplistic depiction in still life paintings, but incorporated
influence from scientific diagrams. Allegory and meaning were important in still life paintings of
this time, but given the shift away from religion as a dominant social concern, such religious
connotations tend not to occur in contemporary food photography. Aspects of realism, attention
to composition and arrangement and a concern with allegorical meanings carried over in the
18thcentury, which saw more elaborate still life paintings. The food items were more carefully
chosen for visual interest, like unusual shape or texture and grand banquets were depicted in their
entirety. Jean-Simeon Chardin, a significant still life painter, produced many realist paintings
between 1720-1770, depicting everyday objects with illusionist elements yet blended these into a
realistic atmosphere. Mostly focusing on realism, composition and the effects of light, essential
to producing any food photography. Although food was appropriated as a subject in
photography, still life painters in the 20th century continued painting food as the genre
maintained its popularity. Developments in printing techniques paved the way for photographic
printing in newspapers and magazines yet the aesthetics of still life paintings were still seen and
reflected upon in commercial food photography magazines of the 20th century.