# The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda)

**Luis Meléndez** (Spanish, 1716–1780)  
ca. 1772  
Oil on canvas  
41 1/2 x 60 1/2 in. (105.4 x 153.7 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982.60.39. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437053).

## About this work

Luis Meléndez painted this in about 1772, aged 56. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Luis Meléndez](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/luis-melendez)

Spanish, 1716–1780; born in Naples; died in Madrid

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was 56
- Real size: about 41 × 61 in (105 × 154 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: Food, Bread, Grapes, Peaches, Still Life
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1128.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1128/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-afternoon-meal-la-merienda-met-437053).