Cambridge University takes down 16th-Century painting from dinner hall because it upset vegans and vegetarians
Cambridge University has reportedly taken down a centuries-old painting that had been put up in one of its dining halls after they received complaints it was disconcerting to view for those of a vegetarian or vegan inclination.
A copy of 'The Fowl Market', a 16th-Century painting from the Antwerp workshop of renowned specialist animalier Frans Snyders, has been removed from the dining room of Hughes Hall, according to a report by The Telegraph.
While it was painted by an unknown artist and not Snyders himself, who was known for his vivid depictions of hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes, 'The Fowl Market' has all the hallmarks of his work.
It features a collection of dead animals, including a swan, a boar, a deer, and various other game birds, which are being prepped for the dinner table.
The painting at Hughes Hall had been on a long-term loan from Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum and had undergone conservation treatment last December before the recent uproar. It is now all set to go on display as part of a new exhibition, 'Fast & Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500-1800'.
"Some diners felt unable to eat because it was on the wall," a museum spokesperson explained. "People who don't eat meat found it slightly repulsive. They asked for it to come down. This exhibition makes the point that the debate about vegetarianism, about veganism, is nothing new. It dates back to the 1500s."
Victoria Avery and Melissa Calaresu, the exhibition curators, said the decision to take down the painting was a modern incarnation of historic concerns around food consumption and the environment.
"Many people are turning to vegetarianism and veganism as a political choice as much as a dietary one, as we rethink our relationship with animals and their treatment in an industrialized world," they said.
"Food choices are not only determined by political concerns about what we eat but also compounded by the moral anxieties which resonate around diet, self-image, over-consumption and our bodies," they added. The original is in the Hermitage in the Russian city of St. Petersberg.