Found on the second floor of the NY’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, nestled within the European Paintings section, you will find Joachim Beuckelaer’s Fish Market (1568) in a gallery called “The Art of Everyday Life.” In this painting, we see a colorful and vibrant scene depicting a typical day at the market, where a fishmonger works while shoppers graze about.
The artist Joachim Beuckelaer had a history of embedding Abrahamic mythology within his paintings, but, supposedly, he created this painting during a period of transition towards secular images.
But, taking a closer look at Fish Market, there is a dull image towards the back showing three exhausted-looking laborers hauling baskets. Two carry a large basket, while the third seems to redirect the first two, while also holding a smaller basket. Plus, the man in the middle holds a hand-sized oval object, maybe a hat or an empty purse. All three seem tired, and are dressed more plainly when compared to everyone else.
This could very well be a secular painting, but I am stuck on two details in this smaller background image. First, behind the heads of the first two basket-haulers, it seems like they both don a grayed-out halo. Also, looking at the architecture behind them, especially further back, I can’t help but think about the pyramids. Though, keeping an open mind, the “halos” behind their heads may just be shadows, and the “pyramids” could be regular background buildings. So maybe I’m over-thinking things.
I tried googling looking into the artist, and whether he was a religious person or not, but I failed to find any information about him, other than that he came from a family of artists. My only guess, as a total non-historian, was that he painted whatever was trending at the time, and as the trend moved away from mythological themes towards secular ones, so did his art. Whether Fish Market has any hidden religious meanings, I guess it’s open to interpretation.
Aside from the secular vs. religious debate, Fish Market, in my opinion, highlights the hard work of everyday laborers who toil behind the scenes, almost invisible, while shoppers leisurely stroll about. I believe that this was a common theme in Joachim Beuckelaer’s paintings, but please feel free to correct me. I don’t know much about art history, other than from the internet or museum placards.
I very rarely venture into the European Paintings section of the MET. As a kid, I always gravitated towards the mummies! Then in high school, my friends and I would just sit in the Japanese Garden and relax. As an adult, I’m starting to visit places I never thought about before. Drop me some recommendations!
Notes of Currant 