Use the Forks, Henry: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Luca Giordano - Pasta Eater, Allegory of Taste - y1985-35 - Princeton University Art Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|An Italian man eating pasta with his fingers<br>{{small|By Luca Giordano (ca. 1660)}}]]

Only here arises a puzzle: I was trying to gather some iconographic examples illustrating the shared history of the fork and pasta, but among all of the early modern paintings I’ve managed to find that show people enjoying pasta, every single one depicts the pasta being grabbed with the fingers! It seems, however, that these paintings mostly portray peasants or the urban poor. Perhaps the image of a pauper greedily stuffing handfuls of pasta into his mouth was more appealing to painters of the time than that of nobles ~~elegantly~~ twirling it on their forks.

Only here arises a puzzle: I was trying to gather some iconographic examples illustrating the shared history of the fork and pasta, but among all of the early modern paintings I’ve managed to find that show people enjoying pasta, every single one depicts the pasta being grabbed with the fingers! It seems, however, that these paintings mostly portray peasants or the urban poor. Perhaps the image of a pauper greedily stuffing handfuls of pasta into his mouth was more appealing to painters of the time than that of nobles daintily twirling it on their forks.

In the 18th century, the fork began to evolve. Two straight, pointed prongs were gradually replaced with three – and later four – curved, blunted tines, allowing for easier scooping and reducing the risk of injury. The 19th century brought a whole array of specialized variants: fish forks, oyster forks, cheese forks, dessert forks… Differences in fork etiquette began to emerge as well: some people laid their forks on the table with the tines facing down (the French way), others with the tines facing up (the English way); some held the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left, while others kept fork-shuttling from one hand to another (as Americans still do today).

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 [[File:Luca Giordano - Pasta Eater, Allegory of Taste - y1985-35 - Princeton University Art Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|An Italian man eating pasta with his fingers<br>{{small|By Luca Giordano (ca.&nbsp;1660)}}]]
-Only here arises a&nbsp;puzzle: I was trying to gather some iconographic examples illustrating the shared history of the fork and pasta, but among all of the early modern paintings I’ve managed to find that show people enjoying pasta, every single one depicts the pasta being grabbed with the fingers! It seems, however, that these paintings mostly portray peasants or the urban poor. Perhaps the image of a&nbsp;pauper greedily stuffing handfuls of pasta into his mouth was more appealing to painters of the time than that of nobles elegantly twirling it on their forks.
+Only here arises a&nbsp;puzzle: I was trying to gather some iconographic examples illustrating the shared history of the fork and pasta, but among all of the early modern paintings I’ve managed to find that show people enjoying pasta, every single one depicts the pasta being grabbed with the fingers! It seems, however, that these paintings mostly portray peasants or the urban poor. Perhaps the image of a&nbsp;pauper greedily stuffing handfuls of pasta into his mouth was more appealing to painters of the time than that of nobles daintily twirling it on their forks.
 In the 18th century, the fork began to evolve. Two straight, pointed prongs were gradually replaced with three – and later four – curved, blunted tines, allowing for easier scooping and reducing the risk of injury. The 19th century brought a&nbsp;whole array of specialized variants: fish forks, oyster forks, cheese forks, dessert forks… Differences in fork etiquette began to emerge as well: some people laid their forks on the table with the tines facing down (the French way), others with the tines facing up (the English way); some held the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left, while others kept fork-shuttling from one hand to another (as Americans still do today).