Answer:
The correct answer is Still Life
A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms (1551) by Pieter Aersten (1508-1573) was also classified as still life, but in fact, is genre scene situated in a meat market, having the passage of the Holy Family distributing alms, a scene referred to the biblical history of the birth of Jesus Christ, and is depicted as a background scene of the butcher’s stall.
Explanation:
Pieter Aestern was a Dutch mannerist painter, who used to make combinations of many genres in his paintings. Still Life was part of Dutch painting history, becoming a reference and a tradition in that country in many historical and artistic periods. But Aersten had a particular language, which he used to depict genre scenes and many symbolic figures that were organized just like a Still Life picture.
Known as the Butcher’s Stall, the real title of that painting is A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms, which shows that the real intention of the artist was to discuss religion and charity, while the butcher’s stall is a counterpoint of the biblical scene. The Holy Family is depicted as Aestern’s contemporaries, diffently from the traditional way.
The Virgin Mary is holding the Baby Jesus while she gives alms riding a donkey. There’s a line of beggers and observers, as she was continuing her journey to asylum. The original story passes in Egypt, but Aersten painted the scenario as the Dutch’s landscapes.
In the Bible, the Holy Family is described as poor, but at the same they are generous. In Aersten’s reading, it’s the opposite of butcher that sells food instead of sharing it with who needs it. He was a very religious person and usually made references to his faith and beliefs in his arts.
