Butcher's Stall with the Flight into Egypt - Pieter Aertsen
Archival giclée
Ready to hang
Secure checkout
Made to order
Description
Pieter Aertsen's "Butcher's Stall with the Flight into Egypt" combines a detailed still life of meats and foodstuffs with a background scene of the Flight into Egypt, offering a moral commentary on earthly versus spiritual concerns.
Pieter Aertsen's "Butcher's Stall with the Flight into Egypt", painted in 1551, presents a seemingly straightforward depiction of a well-stocked butcher's shop. Aertsen was a Dutch painter active in the mid-16th century, known for his innovative genre scenes and still lifes. This work exemplifies his skill in rendering realistic textures and details. The painting is not merely a still life; it incorporates a religious scene in the background, offering a moral commentary on earthly versus spiritual concerns. The foreground is dominated by an array of meats, including sausages, joints of beef, and a pig's head, all rendered with remarkable realism. Fish, butter, and other foodstuffs add to the abundance. The composition is carefully arranged to draw the viewer's eye across the scene, from the overflowing table to the figures in the background. These figures depict the Flight into Egypt, a biblical episode where Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus flee to Egypt to escape King Herod's persecution. The juxtaposition of the mundane and the sacred invites contemplation on the relationship between material wealth and spiritual values. The painting may be interpreted as a warning against excessive indulgence in worldly pleasures, contrasting the abundance of the butcher's stall with the piety and humility of the Holy Family. Aertsen's work is an early example of genre painting that combines everyday life with religious or moral messages.
Return policy
Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. EU customers have a 14-day cooling-off right. See our refunds page for full details.
Shipping
We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Butcher's Stall with the Flight into Egypt - Pieter Aertsen
Our Features
Designed for Lasting Impact
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Choose poster, framed print, canvas or framed canvas
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Why Choose Us ?
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Fast Shipping
Museum-Quality Materials
Artist Biography
Pieter Aertsen
He was born in Amsterdam around 1508 and was known as "Lange Piet" (Tall Pete) because of his height. He apprenticed under Allaert Claesz in Amsterdam before moving to Antwerp, where he became a citizen in 1542 and worked for roughly fifteen years. His market and kitchen scenes placed food, cookware and domestic labour at enormous scale, transforming genre subjects into something approaching history painting's physical presence.
He married Kathelijne Beuckelaar, and three of their eight children became painters. His nephew and pupil Joachim Beuckelaer continued and developed his distinctive format. Many of Aertsen's later religious paintings were destroyed during the Beeldenstorm, the wave of Protestant iconoclasm in 1566. He returned to Amsterdam around 1556 and died there in 1575. His monumental kitchen and market scenes anticipate the still-life painting of the seventeenth century by half a century, and his compositional strategy of hiding the sacred behind the secular continues to generate scholarly argument about his intentions.
You May Also Like