The term bodega in Spanish can mean "pantry", "tavern", or "wine cellar". The derivative term bodegón is an augmentative that refers to a large bodega, usually in a derogatory fashion. In Spanish art, a bodegón is a still life painting depicting pantry items, such as victuals, game, and drink, often arranged on a simple stone slab, and also a painting with one or more figures, but with significant still life elements, typically set in a kitchen or tavern. It also refers to low-life or everyday objects, which can be painted with flowers, fruits, or other objects to display the painter's mastery.
A bodegón by an unknown Spanish painter depicting most of the commonly employed motifs: Kitchen Scene; 1610–25, 105 × 125 cm, Rijksmuseum.
Classic trompe-l'œil wall painting in Pompeii (Naples National Archaeological Museum)
Vegetables and fruits, some suspended by thread. Still Life with Fruits and Vegetables by Juan Sánchez Cotán; c. 1600, 69 × 96 cm, private collection.
Bodegón with elements of genre paintings — kitchen and cooking. An Old Woman Cooking Eggs by Diego Velázquez; 1618, 101 × 120 cm, Scottish National Gallery.
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural or human-made.
Juan Sánchez Cotán, Still Life with Game Fowl, Vegetables and Fruits (1602), Museo del Prado, Madrid
Still life on a 2nd-century mosaic, with fish, poultry, dates and vegetables from the Vatican museum
Glass bowl of fruit and vases. Roman wall painting in Pompeii (around 70 AD), Naples National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy
Hans Memling (1430–1494), Vase of Flowers (1480), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. According to some scholars the Vase of Flowers is filled with religious symbolism.
