Frans I Van Mieris (1635-1681) And Workshop - The Oyster Luncheon

Born into a family of painters and goldsmiths, Frans Miéris belongs to that generation of Dutch painters, nicknamed the "fijnschilders", who paint the daily life of aristocrats with remarkable precision. In Dutch genre painting of the late 17th century, oysters were generally seen as erotic symbols, evoking the female sex. However, it is possible that the artist also wanted to allude to the "Physiologus", an animal book dating from the 3rd century AD. In this work, the author relates the behavior of animals to Christian teaching . The sensual religious content of the shell is symbolically associated with Mary who gave birth to the precious “pearl”: Christ. However, the erotic aspect of the scene takes over, reinforced by the lustful gaze of the man who, with a certain lust, hands the oyster platter to his beauty. We know of several versions of this painting, the most famous being the one on display at the Maurithuis Museum in The Hague.