Pieters Bruegel the Elder. 1565 C.E. Netherland. Oil on woods
This Bruegel oil painting - which is, incidentally the world's most popular classical Christmas card design - evokes the harsh conditions and temperatures of winter. The composition is ideal as the first in a frieze of pictures covering the full year, and the painting is filled with detail. Commissioned 4 seasonal panels.
Complete Identification
Pieter Bruegel
1565
Oil Paint on Wood Panel
Realist Period
Vienna, Austria
Form
117 cm by 162 cm
Contrapposto, dynamic movement
Figures with their back towards the viewer -- draws eye into the scene, away from the foreground
Lots of contrasting colors -- draws eye around the composition
Sharp forms, less gentle blending
Very, very subtle use of atmospheric perspective in the back-most mountains and hills
Function
Represents both the hardships and the enjoyments of winter
Sheds light on the activities of everyday life
Reaction to the renaissance themes of nobility and religion
Making art to depict the world as it is seen
Content
Part of a six-part series of images called seasons of the year
Figures, and houses painted in warm, earthy tones -- contrasting from the cold blues and grays used to represent the elements
Homogenized figures, none of which show their face--represent the poor, “nameless”
Hunters return from what might have been an unsuccessful hunt
Both figures and dogs bend down and sulk, looking exhausted
Small figures in the background dot a pair of frozen lakes, seemingly enjoying the winter
Figures dance about the ice, interacting with each other and small objects
Mood in the foreground -- solemn, sense of despair
Figures in bottom left third sag, trudging through the snow
Left-most figures huddle by the fire, desperate for warmth
Almost every visible figure has a downward gaze
Architecture -- where nature and civilization meet
Rows of houses fall away into vast fields of snow
- Painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
- Painted in 1565
- Bruegel is best known for his landscapes and his focusing on the life and mannerisms of peasants
- this is fitting considering the content of this work
- This is probably the reason this work's patron picked Bruegel
- It was commissioned by Nicaels Jonghelinck
- This is a secular painting
- This is one of six works in series entitled Months of the Year
- strangely there are only six works instead of twelve and only 5 still exist
- Northern Renaissance
- The patron was from Antwerp in modern day Holland
- This probably depicts a scene somewhere in the alps
- This is because Holland is an extremely flat country, yet there are mountains in the background
- The viewers eyes are drawn across the painting diagonally by the positioning of the subjects and statically placed lines
- No linear perspective!
- Aerial Perspective!
- We start at the bottom right as these figures are largest and appear closest to the viewer
- These figures appear to be coming back from an unsuccessful hunt
- They don't have much in the way of food and appear to be trudging through the snow with despair
- They are hunched over and appear to be defeated
- We do not see their faces, so we have to assume their emotions based on their stances
- They are positioned, facing towards a small village and frozen pond
- Our eyes instantly shift onto the frozen pond were the peasants appear to be enjoying the winter
- The immediate shift between the hunters and the other peasants indicate that Bruegel wanted to contrast these two groups of people
- This was probably to contrast the two sides to winter
- These figures appear to be playing a version of hockey and iceskating and do not have the give of the same negative feelings that the hunters do
- As our eyes continue along, we see a village in the background on the left
- It is pretty empty and probably is meant to keep the viewers eyes on pond, moving up into the mountains
- Like I said before, these mountains are probably indicating that this is in the Alps, around modern day Switzerland
- The birds are also pointed at the pond and help focus our eyes on the subjects
Themes
Everyday life and mannerisms
Social commentary
Beauty in simplicity
Cross-Cultural Connections
Bayueax Tapestry
Representation of everyday activities
No-frills depictions of commoners doing jobs
Seated Boxer
Sense of sorrow, defeat → sagging figure(s)
Tangible sense of both physical and emotional weight
Everyday subject
