A midnight snack sparks a lively culture spat on r/AccidentalRennaissance. Is OP too pretentious even for a pretentious sub, or just Italian?

The OP: https://old.reddit.com/r/AccidentalRenaissance/comments/10uagqz/the_midnight_snack/

For those who don’t know, AR is a large sub that still manages to engage in a fair amount of gatekeeping to avoid heathens who don’t know their Caravaggio from their Vermeer.

Common critiques of a post include:

—Not Renaissance

—Not accidental (too obviously posed/staged)

One thing I love about SRD is the different forms the drama takes, so I’ll start by noting what amused me about this post. There’s not a LOT of back-and-forth here—the drama is more in the various camps the brief comments fall into.

Before we get into the delicious snacky tidbits, a formatting note: Since my formatting is challenged by being on mobile, I designate quote replies with — and note when the reply is by the OP.

THEME ONE: NOT ACCIDENTAL

n'est pas accidental.

Not accidental. Not a snack.

Accidental my ass

THEME TWO: THIS IS PRETENTIOUS AF

What on earth is this food?

Who the fuck cuts a lemon like that? Great photo.

I have absolutely no clue what snack OP is making. Why are there so many onions?

—The jar of what look like metal shavings has me most confused

—-Adding that much needed crunch

—OP: Just whatever was handy really. The metal shavings were in fact anchovies, and the onion was Tropea so it’s quite sweet.

Way too much effort for a midnight snack.

You may need to slap a whole fish somewhere in this to finish the scene. How about the empty counter on the top?

Who hurt you?

The longer I stare, the worse it gets.

Why would you cut a lemon the way you cut it? That causes me more grief than twenty 9/11's.

*And this brutal comment that prompted a reply from OP:

No one is going to address the single slice of wet bread? I mean the lemon is terrifying, but what the fuck happened to that bread?

—OP: It’s olive oil, buddy.

*And this gem guaranteed to piss off OP whether he’s correct or not:

Im gonna guess this was taken by a Brit. They eat like the Germans are still flying over, after all.

THEME THREE: I AM SOPHISTICATED ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE OP’S SOPHISTICATION

A few embrace the snobbery by showing that unlike the other commenters, they are sophisticated enough to appreciate the OP’s impeccable taste in food, flooring, and knives, or by correctly guessing that OP is Italian. OP replies to some of these comments approvingly—SOMEBODY appreciates his exquisite taste:

OP you are the midnight snack.

I know Italy when I see it.

—All I can think is how Italian this entire picture is. Who else makes midnight snacks like this. Maybe Parisians.

I love those floors though, never find that in the US.

—OP: That’s right, Le Marche.

ITT: lots of peasants.

—OP: Indeed 😂

Classic Ikon spotted. Great knife!

Cibo eccellente. Bravo.

THEME FOUR: META

Finally, as the most awesome of desserts (dolci), is this meta humble-critique:

People are commenting on the content rather than the style.

My first thought was, "nailed it," especially the way the texture of the lemon pops against the board. Compare with Caravaggio's lemon here: https://drawpaintacademy.com/basket-of-fruit/

I'm less sure about the harshness of the shadows. Old masters liked to show off their skill by having diffuse shadows. They tend to stick the odd candle somewhere in the corner just for bragging rights. Casually like, "oh, doesn't your kitchen have three sources of light at odd angles? I thought everybody did these days."

Similarly, the de-focused light through the glass jar is a feature I don't really recall from anything classical. But I'm not any sort of scholar. I'm just a guy who has permanent neck pain from walking through too many museums.

https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/10urypj/a_midnight_snack_sparks_a_lively_culture_spat_on/