 The painter Pieter
Breughel is mainly known as a chronicler of everyday life in the Flemish
countryside with paintings such as "Proverbs" and "Children's games", but
Breughel's work has another side which reminds us of Hiëronymus Bosch
(+1516). Like with all early artists the warning morality was a large
factor. People felt they were surrounded by a hostile world filled with
natural and human violence, epidemic diseases and other threats for which
they had no other explanation but the hands of fate. It was left to
artists and the clergy to show how destiny could be influenced favourably.
Nevertheless, Breugel was light-hearted as well. He evoked a feeling of
alienation by placing playful scenes before impressing and beautifully
painted landscapes and with hilarious exaggeration "Pieter the funny one",
as was his nickname, provoked laughter amongst his contemporaries. |
