
Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda)
Luis Meléndez · ca. 1772
- Artist
- Luis Meléndez Spanish, Naples 1716–1780 Madrid
- Date
- ca. 1772
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 41 1/2 x 60 1/2 in. (105.4 x 153.7 cm)
- Where to see it
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982 · CC0 Public Domain · The Met · see it at the museum ↗
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
What do you see?
Stand in front of it for a moment. Then tell us what you noticed or felt - there are no wrong answers.
Be the first to share a thought.
If you like this, stand in front of these

Still Life with Game FowlJuan Sánchez Cotán, c. 1600–3

Still Life—Strawberries, Nuts, &c.Raphaelle Peale, 1822

Calf's Head and Ox TongueGustave Caillebotte, c. 1882

The Basket of ApplesPaul Cezanne, c. 1893

The Herring NetWinslow Homer, 1885

Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (The Rowers' Lunch)Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1875

Merry Company on a TerraceJan Steen, ca. 1670

The HarvestersPieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565