The period of European industrialization and urbanization in the latter half of the nineteenth century brought about significant change in traditional food systems. This study identifies differences in diet quality between the upper and lower socioeconomic classes based on their depictions in selected major works of art from the period. Twenty European paintings were chosen, ten each from the upper and lower classes, which show people eating typical fare of the period. To examine class differences in diet, the artworks were coded for dietary diversity, gender, setting, and tone. Content analysis was examined in detail by comparing a randomly selected work portraying each of the two classes. Dietary diversity was measured using a questionnaire from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, from which variable frequencies and average diversity scores were tabulated and compared. The average dietary diversity score of the higher-class group was more than double the score of the lower-class group. Depictions were equivalent for the genders, but the upper classes had more scenes in private exterior settings. In addition, the higher class paintings contained only warm and neutral tones, while the lower classes had primarily cool and neutral tones.