Pieter Bruegel the Elder - Complete Works of Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569) Contents Delphi Classics 2016 Version 1 Masters of Art Series Pieter Bruegel the Elder By Delphi Classics, 2016

From the fact that he entered the Antwerp painters guild in 1551, it is assumed that he was born between 1525 and 1530. According to van Mander, his master was the Antwerp painter Pieter Coecke van Aelst, whose daughter Maria Bruegel married in 1563. Bruegel was assigned to paint the rear of two wings of a triptych in Mechelen in the early 1550s, while the middle panel was painted by Pieter Balten. It is likely Bruegel received this commission due to the connections of Mayken Verhulst, the widow of Pieter Coecke. Between 1552 and 1553, Bruegel travelled to Italy, where he visited Rome and met the miniaturist Giulio Clovio, whose will of 1578 lists three of his paintings. These works, apparently landscapes, have not survived.

About 1555 Bruegel returned to Antwerp by way of the Alps, which resulted in a number of exquisite drawings of mountain landscapes. These sketches, which form the basis for many of his later paintings, are not records of actual places but composites made in order to investigate the organic life of forms in nature. Housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, The Fight between Carnival and Lent was completed in 1559 and depicts a common festival of the period, as celebrated in the Southern Netherlands. The canvas presents the contrast between two sides of contemporary life, as can be seen by the appearance of the inn on the left side, symbolising enjoyment, and the church on the right side representing religious observance. The hectic scene portrays well-behaved children near the church and a beer drinking scene near the inn. At the centre is a well, illustrating the coming together of different parts of the community.

Bruegel has chosen to depict the conflict between Carnival and Lent as a jousting match between two comical adversaries. This carnival was an important event in community life in early modern Europe, representing the transition between two different seasonal cuisines: livestock that was not to be wintered was slaughtered, and meat was in good supply. As the period of Lent commenced, with its enforced abstinence and the associated spiritual purification in preparation for Easter, the butcher shops closed and the butchers travelled into the countryside to purchase cattle for the spring. Bruegels painting is rich in allegories and symbolisms that have been long studied. It is often read as the triumph of Lent, as the figure of Carnival seems to bid farewell with his left hand and his eyes are lifted to the sky. A more generalised meaning may be the illustration of Bruegels belief that human activities are motivated by folly and self-seeking.

Carnival is represented as an obese man riding a beer barrel with a pork chop attached to its front end. He wears a huge meat pie as a head-dress and wields a long spit, complete with a pigs head, as a weapon for the fight. The pouch of knives at his belt indicates that he is a butcher. The man behind the barrel is dressed in yellow, which is connected with deceit, and he is followed by a female figure carrying on her head a table with bread and waffles on it. Lents half of the picture is dominated by abstinence and piety, with figures drawing water from the well, giving alms to the poor and the sick, and going to church. The church itself is the dominant building from which queues of black figures emerge from their prayers.

Lady Lent is presented in the foreground, dressed like a nun, seated on a cart drawn by a monk and a nun; she appears gaunt and thin, with her followers feeding on bread and biscuits. Lady Lents wagon contains traditional Lenten foods, pretzels, waffles and mussels. Inside the entrance to the church a veiled statue is visible, as it was customary in Roman Catholic churches to cover up all works of art at Lent until Easter Sunday when the carved and painted figures of saints would be unveiled once more. Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Bruegels supposed master: Coecke van Aelst, engraving by Johannes Wierix