Happy Columbus Day,
everyone! We hope everyone will join us
this Thursday, October 15 from 1 to 5 p.m. for our next delicious Pathfinder
Produce market at The Village Commons. Our
market is absolutely brimming with great seasonal tastes, so that you may share
fresh fruits and veggies with your family throughout the week.
****
I’ve been
watching another history documentary series, this one features art historian Dr. James Fox,
and focuses on the British
Renaissance. Showing documents, buildings, scientific artifacts and art,
Dr. Fox explains that this English era of creativity came later than the famed
Italian Renaissance, and developed its own more-earthy, more pedestrian
aesthetic. Shakespeare, of course, was
part of this era, as were other visionaries like Hans Holbein the
Younger, John
Donne, and Britain’s first architect of renown, Inigo Jones.
One of the
painters that the series focuses on is Nathaniel Bacon
(1585-1627) …. ummmm Bacon, have I got your interest? (Note: This is not the same Nathaniel Bacon of
Virginia Colony who would lead one of the earliest armed revolts in America
against royal leaders, Bacon’s
Revolt in 1676.)
Bacon, a
member of the landed gentry from Culford, truly was a Renaissance Man. He was a gifted portraitist, and is also
credited with painting the first British landscape, a small
but distinct piece that celebrates the land for its own sake, now in the
collection of the Ashmolean Museum.
Sadly, less than a dozen of his paintings survive.
Bacon was
clearly influenced by Northern European artists, the Dutch and Flemish painters,
who reveled in food
and market scenes. But Bacon’s true
passion was for gardening and growing incredible edibles. His pears and turnips were well known, and
his succulent cantaloupe melons were especially prized. He is best known for his painting of one of
his harvests, “Cook
Maid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit,” which showcases a
spectacular harvest and is believed to be the first still-life painting created
in England. (While modern viewers may
be a tad shocked at the cook maid’s plunging neckline, clearly the focus of the
painting for 15th century viewers was the explosion of vegetables
and mammoth cabbages. The painting is now in the collection of the Tate, London.)
So what does
this have to do with Pathfinder Produce?
I guess the connecting thread is that we are now at the height of our
harvest, and our market continues Bacon’s vision of presenting wonderful
produce for all to appreciate. Although
we are more-removed from horticulture and rely on the labor of market farmers,
there is still something about fresh-picked, colorful, and varied fruits and
vegetables that speaks to us all about full flavors, eating well, and satiety.
Until next
time, enjoy the harvest!
Lori
