Grand Dessert

Originating in France in the 17th century – the word itself stemming from the French deservir (to clear the table) – dessert has long been a fixture at the end of a meal, dished up in the form of cakes, ice creams, pastries and other confections. The Kunstmuseum den Haag is dipping into this rich history with a display of paintings, recipe books, dinner services, baking tins and hundreds of other objects related to dessert, spanning from 1600 to the present day (23 November–6 April). The element of scent in the exhibition, with the aromas of Indonesian sponge cake, apple pie and 10 other desserts dispersed across the show, is a further delight for the senses, but it’s not all peaches and cream: the exhibition also explores the ways in which desserts have been tied to class systems and colonial histories, particularly when it comes to the origins of ingredients such as vanilla and cocoa.

Find out more from the Kunstmuseum den Haag’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

Pronk Still Life depicting a rich man and poor Lazarus (c. 1608), Osias Beert. Private collection

Still life of sugar flowers (n.d.), Natasja Sadi. Photo: Natasja Sadi

Illustration from The Book of Patisserie (1873), Jules Gouffé. University of Amsterdam