Eleanor Beaumont
Food, Art and Theatre The Way in which Food, Art and Theatre Connect
AAD Dissertation Studio 13 2020–21
Extracts from Eleanor Beaumont, Food, Art and Theatre: The Way in which Food, Art and Theatre Connect
Dissertation Studio 13 B(read) Tutor: Harriet McKay
School of Art, Architecture and Design London Metropolitan University 2021
Chapter 2 At the Table: Food, Art and Theatre in Historical Royal Banquets. I have previously discussed the visual importance of food. Moving forward in Chapter Two, I will be exploring the visual importance of the environment and the theatrical elements surrounding the table. Through exploring the history of royal banquets, I will focus attention the design of the table setting and food as a piece of artwork on the table. Banquets were a great visual, holding importance to members of the aristocracy to convey their wealth, power, and status in society. This is because they were an opportunity to host the wealthiest members of society, showing off their rich, elaborate tableware, table displays and magnificent food stuffs that was served throughout the event. Tommy Schroder states in “A Marvel to Behold”. Great banquets were the climax of any embassy or important royal occasion. They were feasts not only for the body but for the mind and the eye; they were an opportunity for opulent display, and they were meant to astonish. Indeed, as a central plank in the promotion of the regime and its wealth and power, it was essential that they did astonish. (Schroder, 2020, pg. 85)
2.1 Firstly, I will refer to the Mise en Scene (Stourna, 2018, pg 11) of banquets and the visual importance of the environment around the food presented at the table. Significantly, the French term Mise en Scene is used in theatre and film, meaning setting a scene using props and the overall surroundings of an event. Athena Stourna uses the concept of Mise en Scene when exploring the theatrical nature of banquets in her journal article “Banquet Performance now and then: Commensal Experiments and eating Mise en Scene” as it ‘…encompasses the multidisciplinary nature both theatre direction and performance creation; it refers to a form of total art in itself.’ (Stourna, 2018, pg 11). Mise en Scene is connected to banquets through the props (table ware) and the act of setting the table, such as the artistic decoration and food stuffs that set the scene for the overall banquet.
Banquets exemplify how food and theatre can be linked. The staff involved in the banquet present the scene of a magnificent feast. The servers would set the scene by laying the table with elaborate tableware in preparation before the feasts, as well as carrying out the dishes to the table during the banquet itself. Actors in theatrical plays similarly perform and set the scene for the audience of a play like the servers do for the guests of the banquet. The Medieval Banquet Feast of the Pheasant hosted by Duke Phillip of Burgundy in 1454 exemplifies the servers participating in the visuals and overall performance of the Banquet. The servers were dressed in the colours of Duke Phillip, black and grey, becoming part of the visual effect of the overall space around the guests (Normore, 2015, pg 6). In addition, twenty-eight musicians entertained his guests through playing a number of compositions from inside a pie. (Stourna, 2018, pg 15). Most royal banquets throughout history were held in huge grand halls of the aristocracy’s castles or palaces, which has remained a consistent tradition through to the present time. The look and feel of the room, where the banquet is held, is important to set the scene for the guests and how they will experience the event. The room itself can be a grand gesture to showcase one’s wealth and high status. One example of the room as a visual is shown in a 19th century State Banquet shown in figure one.
Figure 4. Prince George IV’s banquet held in Brighton Pavillion. (lovefood, 2019)
This grand, vibrant room hosted Prince George IV’s banquet for the Grand Duke Nicolas of Russia in Brighton Pavilion. The walls surrounding Prince George IV and his guests were covered in intricate,
bright paintings, showcasing different domestic scenes in China (Brighton Museum). Designed to give a great impression, provide the room with character and glamour, the room was a grand display of Prince George IV’s wealth. Making the room highly visual encouraged the guests to look around the room at the magnificent pieces of art. Therefore, the room acted both as an art gallery as well as a place for fine dining. Relating back to my title ‘Food and Art’, the banqueting room illustrates how both disciplines can intertwine within a setting that surrounds food itself. This can be seen in later royal banquets such as Prince Leopold Christening’s banquet held at Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria in 1853 (see fig 5). (RCT, no date).
Figure 5. Prince Leopold Christening’s banquet held at Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria in 1853. (RCT, no date).
The red curtains (see fig. 4) draping in front of the windows adds theatrical style to the room. This is the same as the red curtains that are commonly seen beside a stage in a theatre. The banquet room curtains were open to allow a way for the guests to look outside and a way of looking in at the theatrical grand event. This contributes natural light to the room adding to the overall atmosphere. Overlooking the banquet, a floral green painting set inside the dome creates a centre piece within the room. Hanging below the dome, sculptural dragons hold crystal chandeliers shaped like lotuses making the room dazzle, which adds a theatrical element to the room. In support of this, Brighton Museum states: ‘His spectacular chandelier – 30 feet high and weighing one ton – hangs from the claws of a silvered dragon apex of the ceiling. Below six smaller dragons breathe light through lotus glass shades.’ (Brighton Museum, no date). This reflects my connection of food, art, and theatre because the illustration of the dragons breathing light-like fire through the glass shades, showcases the theatrical light shining on the table displays. Additionally, the bright yellow floor with accents of blue and red, matched the walls and allowed the table that took centre stage in the room to stand out.
Moving on, I would like to draw attention to the centre of the room shown in figure 4. The table acts like the stage for the elaborate tableware, decorations, and the food to be displayed on. This creates a frame supporting extravagant displays. (Stourna, 2018, pg 13). This covey the link between food and theatre through which the food sits on. The tables in royal banquets are consistently rectangular in shape throughout history, running down the length of the grand hall, despite the number of guests that were invited. Most often the patriarchy would sit at a table that was set higher than the other tables and ran across the width of the hall, to showcase their high-class role in society. The guests sat lower than the patriarchy with their table running down the length of the hall. This is seen in King George IV’s Coronation Banquet held in Westminster Hall in 1821 (see fig. 6):
Figure 6. The last challenge by the campion during King George Coronation banquet in Westminster hall. Watercolour painted by Denis Dighton in 1821. (RCT, no date).
Here, King George IV’s table is at the top of the stairs, propped up higher, facing down at his guests. This illustrates the importance of demonstrating one’s status in the room through the positioning of the tables. The table is protected with white tablecloths, setting a blank canvas for the elaborate gold ornaments, tableware, and the food served itself. However, in contrast to King George IV’s Coronation Banquet, the table set inside the Brighton Pavilion at his state banquet shown in figure one, has been laid out differently. At the latter banquet, George IV sat amongst his guests on one
table running down the centre of the banqueting room. This may have occurred due to the type of event, the number of the guests invited, and the size of the room. In addition, King George IV’s Coronation Banquet is a great example of where food and theatre intertwine from the spectators found in the galleries above the banquet. The spectators become the audience to a magnificent play, however this act is in fact real, watching over King George IV’s and his guests eat and drink. The champion’s big entrance riding through the centre of the banquet on a horse adds a theatrical element to the banquet. (De Bellaigue, 1993, pg. 1). The guests on the banquet floor become the actors of this magnificent scene, supporting the banquet and its overall performance. Stourna states that The act of inviting spectators to the table, of sharing food and drink with them, provides a different kind of communal experience; participants become table guests and thus shape the overall performance. Eating becomes an artistic act and food, an organic, ephemeral work of art. (Stourna, 2018, pg 11). Elegant, grand objects would sit high on the table, presenting itself to the guests around the table. These grand objects would include the following: big centre pieces such as candle holders known as candelabras, flower displays, gold and silver plates, serving platters, as well as engraved cutlery and crystal drinking glasses. The rise of the use of centre pieces in banquets came to light in the 18th century from the change in food being served to guests rather than being displayed on the table itself (Mayfair Gallery, 2019). This allowed room for bigger and more elaborate tableware, creating more of a performance during the event from servants serving the elaborate dishes to each guest. A great example of centre pieces taking centre stage on the table and making the table setting an art form is found in Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Banquet in 1887 (RCT, no date).
Figure 7. Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Banquet in 1887. (RCT, no date)
(See Fig. 7) The big centrepieces include gold candelabra which were hugely important for the setting of the banquet. The candelabra was designed to allow the guests to catch a gleam from the gold tableware, making the plates, cutlery and glasses for each guest stand out and shine on the table (RCT, no date). In addition, long mirrors known as Surtout-de-table were placed flat in the centre of the table. The addition of the mirrored surface was designed to make the banquet shine and add a sense of glamour whilst the guests eat, as well as reflecting other decorations on the table (Mayfair Gallery, 2019). Moving forward into the 19th century, flower displays became fashionable for the centrepiece of the table, adding colour and reflecting the season the banquet fell in (Mayfair Gallery, 2019). The elaborate table setting and the tableware itself was very important for members of the aristocracy to showcase the wealth and impress their guests. In support to this, Mayfair Gallery states in the History of Antique Tableware: In the 17th and 18th century, the European upper classes defined their high status by the elegance and beauty of the objects that they owned. Striving to impress, wealthy aristocrats commissioned increasingly more elaborate items of tableware (Mayfair Gallery, 2019). This is shown throughout the history of royal banquets, carrying through to this day as a symbol of great wealth and status. King George IV and his banquets are a great example of using tableware as
a symbol of wealth. Known as his Grand Service, the silver gild dining service included a range of dishes and plates with intricate engraved rims, as well as engraved cutlery, dessert stands, centre pieces and candelabras. (RCT, no date). It is noted that George IV requested for gilt to be added to the silver ware to add value and wealth to the silver plates. The Royal Collection Trust states. The first instalment had included plain silver as well as silver gilt, but gradually George IV ordered every piece to be gilded. This may have been response to comments that the silver plate seemed “cold and poor” next to the gilded plate. (RCT, no date).
Figure 8. Dessert Plate and cutlery part of the George IV Grand Service (RCT, no date).
Figure 9. A candelabra that is part of the George IV Grand Service (RCT, no date).
In addition to the magnificent table displays discussed above, it must be stated that food is an important part of the banquet. It became the centre piece and the star of the show. This moves into section 2.2 of exploring elaborate food stuffs created and presented within banquets.
2.2 Moving on from the visual importance within the setting around food, this section will explore food stuffs that were served at banquets as an art form itself. This was done through shocking peacock and swan pies seen at the end of the Middle Ages in Tudor banquets and Antoine Marie Carême’s pastry sculptures Pièces Montées (Galarza, 2016). According to the Oxford Learners Dictionary, an art form is defined as any type of artistic activity which shows imagination. (Oxford Learners Dictionary, no date). This definition will be applied when discussing the Tudor banquets and Carême’s sculptures as art forms. Firstly, at the end of the Middle Ages, food is portrayed as an art form served on the table. These barbaric pies served as luxurious centre pieces for the table at a royal feast and showcased wealth. In support to this, historian Ruth Goodman states in BBC 2 documentary A Tudor Feast; “The diet of the landed gentry differed greatly from that of the lower classes. Poultry was considered a luxury.” (A Tudor Feast, 2013). This illustrates why the Tudor upper-class would display their poultry on the table to convey their status in society. Poultry, ranging from peacocks, swans, ducks and many more displayed on top of pies were purely for decoration. Skinned in one piece, their feathers would remain on them and the freshness of the bird was shown through its perfection and its feathers. Seen in the documentary discussed previously, Goodman was presented with a dead peacock to then create an opulent centre piece for the Tudor banquet. She described the peacock as beautifully and extremely fresh: ‘Absolutely beautiful. He hasn’t even started dragging his tail feathers. Look, they’re perfect right up to the end…He looks extremely fresh.’ (A Tudor Feast,2013). This shows that not only the birds were a visual symbol of money, but also gave the guests the very best produce.
Figure 10, A swan pie ready to be served seen in David Teniers 1644 still life Kitchen Interior. (PBReber, 2012).
A great visual of a Swan pie is seen in figure ten. This swan pie painting is illustrated by David Teniers in 1644 entitled Still Life Kitchen Interior. Still Life portrays a swan pie decorated and finished ready to be served at a grand banquet. This swan pie is an art form from the imagination for oneself to picture and create the table, but also the act of creating this magnificent piece from sculpting and decorating. Shown in figure seven, the pie is decorated with intricate shapes of what could be a symbol of the coat of arms of the host made from off cuts of pastry. This creates a sense of wealth and status through the shapes portrayed on the pie. The pie would often be filled with the roasted meat of the bird in which eating the pie also became a luxurious act and symbol of wealth within the banquet. Moving onto the “star of the show”, the pure white swan is the standout of a feast. Shown in figure seven, the sculpted swan sits high with pride on the pie. It’s pure white colour makes it stand out from the neutral colours shown on the pie. The feathers add texture to the banquet which is visually striking on the table. The swan (see fig. 10) has been crowned which adds a sense of glamour to the table and turns this swan into a grand sculpture. The act of dressing the swan adds theatre to the banquet. In contrast to these magnificent shocking pies, the 18th century saw the rise of sugar sculptures that were more intricate and ascetically pleasing to the eye. Carême, known as the first celebrity chef, pioneered the art of confectionary and patisserie as an art form, creating sculptural pastries he called Pièces Montées for royal banquets. Chef Michel Roux Jr states in the documentary Patisserie with Michel Roux Jr shown on BBC 4, how Carême revolutionised patisserie as an art form in his dishes:
Carême was the first celebrity chef, introducing high art to French cuisine by creating patisserie structures for royalty and the nouveau riche of Paris. He more than anyone elevated patisserie into an art form. (Patisserie with Michel Roux Jr, 2013).
Figure 11. Antoine Carême Pièces Montées (Kayjayaitch, 2014)
Carême’s theatrical edible sculptures were inspired by Parisian architecture and pyramid forms which transforms them into edible art. The Pièces Montées were tall and stood out as part of an opulent display on the table, making them the centre piece in 18th century banquets (Kayjayaitch, 2014). Carême made these edible, complex artforms from pastry, sugar and marzipan. These edible displays on the table created elegance to a banquet, adding a theatrical element whilst the guests eat. For example, chef Didier Quemener explains in documentary “Patisserie with Michel Roux Jr”: It wasn’t just about eating pastry; it was all about the theatre as well. Right, it was a spectacle, I mean you would enter as if you were going to the theatre…Then all of a sudden it was just magical. Should you break it? Should you taste it? Should you dismantle it? People would just be mesmerised. (Patisserie with Michel Roux Jr, 2013). In addition to the striking visuals of the Pièces Montées, it has been argued that Carême used a multisensory element through adding perfumes to his dishes (Patisserie with Michel Roux Jr, 2013). Similarly, as time has progressed, modern chefs are now entering the world of gastronomy, creating new multisensory dishes, which will now be discussed in the following chapter.
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