The ache to return home has long been a universal yearning. Domestic, homey settings evoke a sense of comfort, nostalgia, and security. Although by external standards such environments appear ordinary, they are far from mundane. In the comfort of a kitchen or neighborhood tavern, long hours of conversation with loved ones take place, families gather for shared leisure, and acquaintances become friends.
Spain’s 17th-century bodegón paintings encapsulate this atmosphere of ritualized comfort by elevating the beauty of ordinary objects.
