La colazione di ostriche

In 1735 Louis XV wanted his private dining room at Versailles brought to life, and he asked Jean-Francois de Troy for a scene of men just back from the hunt, settling in to eat. What de Troy gave him was oysters by the dozen and, in the middle of the table, something new. Sparkling champagne had only been tamed a few decades earlier, and this is one of the first times a painter bothered to show it. Look for the cork: it has just left the bottle and is flying up past the marble column, and several of the diners have turned their heads to follow it. No women sit at this table, only gentlemen and their servants. The wine chills in a great cooler on the floor, waiting for the next bottle.