A Cannibal Glint in his Eyes
Week 32 of WolfCrawl
On the table this week
Grand moutardier du pape
The lowest of the Kitchen boys
Heart’s Ease
Fathers and Sons
Baby Thomas Howard
‘I will eat them alive’
That was a culinary week, after which Eustache thinks about asking the emperor to be transferred to Italy and Thurston wants to throw the kitchen apron away. We don't eat anything, but there are a lot of very dark references to food.
The smell of vegetable water in the room of the terminally ill Catherine of Aragon, whose few remaining supporters fear that she will also be poisoned. Mustard and vinegar to torture Wyatt senior, deprivation of food to torment him. Thomas More turning in his grave like a chicken on a spit. A rusty kitchen knife to cut off a head, witches, who turn milk sour. But that's fitting for a kingdom where the king has a cannibalistic glint in his eye and wants to eat his opponents alive. In terms of food, this was probably the darkest chapter of the trilogy so far.
So I have to distract myself and from now on the post will be more relaxed and picture-heavy.
Grand moutardier du pape
You'll stumble upon all sorts of things when you're looking for paintings that relate to the food of the week. The search for mustard and vinegar on paintings was, as expected, hopeless. But I now know that, according to legend, there was the papal office of the Great Mustard Maker, created by Pope John XXII. Well, now you know that too. *g* Anyway, I think it is a malicious legend created by Thomas C.
The lowest of the Kitchen Boys
Cromwell often remembers his bitter beginnings as a kitchen boy and how this contrasts with the extremely privileged background that others in the king's circle have. His rise and how far he's come is incredible, I think it's still hard for him to believe it when he thinks about it. And it must make him feel a little contemptuous of the others who had it so easy in comparison.
Kitchen Boy by Francisco López Caro, c. 1620
And now let's imagine Chistophe as a kitchen boy. He would have made a good life for himself in the kitchen. In the painting I would see Christophe sitting on the right, looking at us with a cigarette in his hand.
The Card players by Joseph Bail, 1897 (Normally I try to stay within the 16th century, mid 17th century, but the painting screams Christophe, I had to use it.
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Heart’s Ease
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, is sewing a border with pansies, the emblem of the Pole family, when a deadly shadow falls over the family Cromwell comes to visit on behalf of the king. As is so often the case, you can rely on Hans Holbein if you are looking for an illustration from the 16th century.
Detail George of Cornwall by Hans Holbein, c. 1535-1540
Fathers and Sons
Father and son Wyatt, Gregory (who we've been seeing more and more of lately, I like him so much!), Wolsey, the only father figure Cromwell ever had and whose shadow is still so alive. The father -son motif has been on my mind lately. Here are some paintings of fathers and sons, where sons are not just painted as miniature versions of their fathers or are just placed in the painting, but where I think there is a connection between the two.
This is my favourite painting of a father and son from this time. The smiling boy, snuggled up to his dad, but curious about what's going on on the side, how long will he stay there?
Portrait of Iseppo da Porto and his son Adriano by Paolo Veronese, c. 1555
The child will be included in the painting, the wife ordered. Now he's standing there with the baby, he's never held it that long before. Hopefully it doesn't start screaming.
Portrait of Hans Urmiller and his Son by Barthel Beham, c. 1525
Here the painter has depicted her own father with her brother and sister.
Family Portrait of Minerva, Amilcare and Asdrubale Anguissola by Sofonisba Anguissola, c. 1558-1559
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk
Baby Thomas Howard (well it´s not him, but that's how I imagine little Thommy). With that we have clarified where Uncle Norfolk's love for chains and pendants comes from.
Maria Ana de Austria by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, 1607
Next week the kitchen will probably stay cold because I'm on vacation and will escape the heat wave that's been going on in Vienna for endless weeks now by escaping to a lake in the Alps.
These father son paintings are hilarious!
mustard and vinegar — plus oil = vinegarette