s Fish market - Hull Museums Collections

Fish market

De Beukelaer followed in the footsteps of his artistic uncle, Pieter Aetsen (1507/8-1575) who developed a new type of picture known as the genre piece, depicting scenes of everyday life and surroundings. This is a good example of their manner. The foreground is used as a platform upon which an abundance of still-life is displayed, including fish of all sorts, each so accurately painted that the various species can be identified - salt-water fish on the left and fresh-water fish on the right. The detailed background is typically Flemish. Not only is the townscape painted with topographical exactitude but we can also see in the far distance how the fresh fish were unloaded on the canal bank before being distributed by wheelbarrow to the fishmongers in the market. Recent research from the Dutch National Museum for the History of Fishery has revealed that fish in particular were often used as sexual metaphors in such scenes. One interpretation of the Fish market is that De Beukelaer has portrayed the slice of salmon in a way to suggest that the man’s intentions are rather less than honourable!