Netherlandish Proverbs: Difference between revisions
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'''''Netherlandish Proverbs''''' ({{lang-nl|Nederlandse Spreekwoorden}}; also called '''''Flemish Proverbs, The Blue Cloak''''' or '''''The Topsy Turvy World''''') is a 1559 [[oil painting|oil]]-on-oak-[[panel painting|panel]] painting by [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]] that depicts a |
'''''Netherlandish Proverbs''''' ({{lang-nl|Nederlandse Spreekwoorden}}; also called '''''Flemish Proverbs''''', '''''The Blue Cloak''''' or '''''The Topsy Turvy World''''') is a 1559 [[oil painting|oil]]-on-oak-[[panel painting|panel]] painting by the [[Flanders|Flemish]] artist [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]] that depicts a scene populated with literal depictions of [[Dutch language]] proverbs current in the [[Low Countries]] at the time. |
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Bruegel's paintings have themes of the absurdity, wickedness |
Bruegel's paintings have running themes of the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of humans, and this painting is no exception. The picture originally was entitled '''The Blue Cloak''' or '''The Folly of the World''' indicating that he was not intending to just depict proverbs, but rather, a study of human stupidity. Many of the people depicted show the characteristic blank features that Bruegel used to portray fools.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pieter Bruegel|url=http://www.aparences.net/periodes/la-renaissance-nordique/pieter-bruegel/|publisher=APARENCES|accessdate=11 August 2013}}</ref> |
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His son, [[Pieter Brueghel the Younger]], specialised in making copies of his father's work, |
His son, [[Pieter Brueghel the Younger]], who specialised in making copies of his father's work, painted at least 16 copies of ''Netherlandish Proverbs''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wisse|first=Jacob|title=Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525/30–1569)|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/brue/hd_brue.htm|work=Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|accessdate=11 August 2013}}</ref> Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs and also differ in other minor details. |
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==History== |
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===Context=== |
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Proverbs were extremely popular at the time Breughel was working. From around a hundred years before Breugels' painting, illustrations of proverbs had been popular in Flemish [[Book of hours]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rudy|first=Kathryn M.|title=Manuscripten en miniaturen: Studies aangeboden aan Anne S. Korteweg bij haar afscheid van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek|year=2007|publisher=Walburg Pers.|location=Zutphen|isbn=9789057304712|url=http://www.academia.edu/636397/Bruegels_Netherlandish_Proverbs_and_the_Borders_of_a_Flemish_Book_of_Hours|chapter=Bruegel’s Netherlandish Proverbs and the Borders of a Flemish Book of Hours}}</ref> A number of collections were published, including [[Adagia|a notable work]] by the Dutch [[Renaissance humanism|humanist]] [[Desiderius Erasmus]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Erasmus|first=Desiderius|authorlink=Desiderius Erasmus|title=Adagia|publisher=Department of Dutch language and literature|location=University of Leiden|url=http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/Dutch/Latijn/ErasmusAdagia.html|edition=Leiden 1700}}</ref> The French writer [[François Rabelais]] used employed significant numbers in his novel ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'', completed in 1564.<ref>{{cite journal|last=O'Kane|first=Eleanor|title=The Proverb: Rabelais and Cervantes|journal=Comparative Literature|year=1950|month=Autumn|volume=2|issue=4|pages=360-369|url=http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1768392?uid=3737592&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102543132283|accessdate=11 August 2013}}</ref> |
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The Flemish artist [[Frans Hogenberg]] had produced an [[engraving]] illustrating 43 proverbs in around 1558.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lebeer|first=L.|title=De Blauwe Huyck|journal=Gentsche Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis|year=1939–40|volume=6|pages=161–229}}</ref><ref name=NT1/> The work was very similar to Breugel's work in composition, and included certain proverbs (like the blue cloak) which also featured prominently in ''Netherlandish Proverbs''.<ref name=NT1>{{cite web|title=Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt / Maer des weerelts abuisen het beter betaempt|url=http://www.teeuwisse.de/catalogues/selected-prints-vii/die-blau-huicke-is-dit-meest-ghenaemt-maer-des-weerelts-abuisen-het-beter-betaempt.html|work=Prints|publisher=Nicolaas Teeuwisse|accessdate=11 August 2013}}</ref> by depicting literal renditions of proverbs in a peasant setting, the artist was able to produce the ethos of a "world turned upside down", clearly echoed by Breugel.<ref name=NT1/> |
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Bruegel himself had painted several minor paintings on the subject of proverbs including ''Big Fish Eat Little Fish'' (1556) and ''Twelve Proverbs'' (1558), but ''Netherlandish Proverbs'' is thought to haven been the first large-scale painting on the theme. |
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==Proverbs== |
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Critics have praised the composition for its ordered portrayal and integrated scene.<ref name=NT1/> There are approximately 112 identifiable idioms or proverbs in the scene, although Bruegel may have included others which cannot be determined. Some of those incorporated in the painting are still in popular use, for instance "''Swimming against the tide''", "''Banging one's head against a brick wall''" or "''Armed to the teeth''", and there are some that are familiar if not identical to the modern English usage such as "''casting roses before swine''". Many more have faded from use or have never been used in English. "''Having one's roof tiled with tarts''", for example, which meant to have an abundance of everything and was an image Bruegel would later feature in his painting of the idyllic ''[[The Land of Cockaigne (Bruegel)|Land of Cockaigne]]'' (1567). |
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⚫ | The ''Blue Cloak'', the piece's original title, features in the centre of the piece and is being placed on a man by his wife, indicative that she was [[cuckolding]] him. Other proverbs indicate human foolishness. A man fills in a pond after his calf has died. Just above the central figure of the blue-cloaked man another man carries daylight in a basket. Some of the figures seem to represent more than one figure of speech (whether this was Bruegel's intention or not is unknown), such as the man shearing a sheep in the centre bottom left of the picture. He is sitting next to a man shearing a pig, so represents the expression "''One shears sheep and one shears pigs''" meaning that one has the advantage over the other, but may also represent the advice "''Shear them but don't skin them''" meaning make the most of available assets. |
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===List of proverbs featured in the painting=== |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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|+Expressions featured in the painting{{sfn|Hagen|2000|pp=36-7}}<ref name=Literatuurgeschiedenis1>{{cite web|title=Spreekwoorden|url=http://www.literatuurgeschiedenis.nl/lg/middeleeuwen/spreekwoorden.html|work=Middeleeuwen|publisher=Literatuurgeschiedenis.nl|accessdate=11 August 2013}}</ref> |
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|+ Expressions featured in the painting<ref>From a list detailing the proverbs and meanings published by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and reproduced in Hagen pp.36–7.</ref> |
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! Proverb !! Meaning !! Area !! Image |
! Proverb !! Meaning !! Area !! Image |
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|What can smoke do to iron? <sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Que peut faire la fumée contre le fer ?">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De rook kan het hangerijzer niet deren ">(nl)</sup>|| There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable || Lower left||[[Image:NP-92.jpg|100x100px]] |
|What can smoke do to iron? <sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Que peut faire la fumée contre le fer ?">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De rook kan het hangerijzer niet deren ">(nl)</sup>|| There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable || Lower left||[[Image:NP-92.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To find the dog in the pot <sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Trouver un chien dans la marmite">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De hond in de pot vinden ">(nl)</sup>|| To arrive too late for dinner and find all the food has been eaten || Lower left |
|To find the dog in the pot <sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Trouver un chien dans la marmite">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De hond in de pot vinden ">(nl)</sup>|| To arrive too late for dinner and find all the food has been eaten || Lower left<ref group=note>The condition of the painting makes it almost impossible to make out the dog.</ref>||[[Image:NP-109.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To sit between two stools in the ashes <sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="S'assoir entre deux chaises dans les cendres">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title=" Tussen twee stoelen in de as zitten ">(nl)</sup>|| To be indecisive || Lower left||[[Image:NP-11.jpg|100x100px]] |
|To sit between two stools in the ashes <sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="S'assoir entre deux chaises dans les cendres">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title=" Tussen twee stoelen in de as zitten ">(nl)</sup>|| To be indecisive || Lower left||[[Image:NP-11.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|If I am not meant to be their keeper, I will let geese be geese|| Do not interfere in matters that are not your concern|| Upper right||[[Image:NP-56.jpg|100x100px]] |
|If I am not meant to be their keeper, I will let geese be geese|| Do not interfere in matters that are not your concern|| Upper right||[[Image:NP-56.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To see bears dancing<ref name="unknown">The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.</ref><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Voir les ours danser">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De beren zien dansen">(nl)</sup>|| To be starving || Right||[[Image:NP-57.jpg|100x100px]] |
|To see bears dancing<ref name="unknown" group=note>The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.</ref><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Voir les ours danser">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De beren zien dansen">(nl)</sup>|| To be starving || Right||[[Image:NP-57.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|Wild bears prefer each other's company<ref name="unknown" /><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Wilde beren vertoeven graag bij soortgenoten">(nl)</sup>|| Peers get along better with each other than with outsiders || Right||[[Image:NP-57.jpg|100x100px]] |
|Wild bears prefer each other's company<ref name="unknown" group=note/><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Wilde beren vertoeven graag bij soortgenoten">(nl)</sup>|| Peers get along better with each other than with outsiders || Right||[[Image:NP-57.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To throw one's cowl over the fence<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Jeter sa cape par dessus la barrière">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De jas over de haag smijten">(nl)</sup>|| To discard something without knowing whether it will be required later || Right||[[Image:NP-66.jpg|100x100px]] |
|To throw one's cowl over the fence<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Jeter sa cape par dessus la barrière">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De jas over de haag smijten">(nl)</sup>|| To discard something without knowing whether it will be required later || Right||[[Image:NP-66.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Avoir du mal à passer d'une miche à l'autre">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Niet van het ene brood tot het andere weten te geraken">(nl)</sup>|| To have difficulty living within budget || Lower right||[[Image:NP-69.jpg|100x100px]] |
|To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Avoir du mal à passer d'une miche à l'autre">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Niet van het ene brood tot het andere weten te geraken">(nl)</sup>|| To have difficulty living within budget || Lower right||[[Image:NP-69.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|A hoe without a handle<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Une houe sans manche">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Een hark zonder steel">(nl)</sup>|| Probably something useless<ref name="unknownm">The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.</ref> || Lower right||[[Image:NP-96.jpg|100x100px]] |
|A hoe without a handle<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Une houe sans manche">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Een hark zonder steel">(nl)</sup>|| Probably something useless<ref name="unknownm" group=note>The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.</ref> || Lower right||[[Image:NP-96.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To look for the hatchet<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Chercher la hache">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Het bijltje zoeken">(nl)</sup>|| To try to find an excuse || Lower right||[[Image:NP-71.jpg|100x100px]] |
|To look for the hatchet<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Chercher la hache">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Het bijltje zoeken">(nl)</sup>|| To try to find an excuse || Lower right||[[Image:NP-71.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|Here he is with his lantern<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Zijn licht ergens op laten schijnen">(nl)</sup>|| To finally have an opportunity to show a talent || Lower right||[[Image:NP-71.jpg|100x100px]] |
|Here he is with his lantern<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Zijn licht ergens op laten schijnen">(nl)</sup>|| To finally have an opportunity to show a talent || Lower right||[[Image:NP-71.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|A hatchet with a handle<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Une hache avec son manche">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De bijl naar de steel werpen">(nl)</sup>|| Probably signifies "the whole thing"<ref name="unknownm" /> |
|A hatchet with a handle<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Une hache avec son manche">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De bijl naar de steel werpen">(nl)</sup>|| Probably signifies "the whole thing"<ref name="unknownm" group=note/>|| Lower right||[[Image:NP-97.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Celui qui a renversé son porridge ne peut pas le remettre dans son bol">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Die zijn pap gemorst heeft kan niet alles weer oprapen">(nl)</sup>|| Once something is done it cannot be undone || Lower right||[[Image:NP-70.jpg|100x100px]] |
|He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Celui qui a renversé son porridge ne peut pas le remettre dans son bol">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Die zijn pap gemorst heeft kan niet alles weer oprapen">(nl)</sup>|| Once something is done it cannot be undone || Lower right||[[Image:NP-70.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it?<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="A quoi sert un beau plat qui est vide ?">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Wat heb je aan een mooi bord als het leeg is?">(nl)</sup>|| Beauty does not make up for substance || Middle||[[Image:NP-99.jpg|100x100px]] |
|What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it?<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="A quoi sert un beau plat qui est vide ?">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Wat heb je aan een mooi bord als het leeg is?">(nl)</sup>|| Beauty does not make up for substance || Middle||[[Image:NP-99.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|[[The Fox and the Stork]] dine together<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Le renard et le grue se divertissent l'un l'autre">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De haan en de vos hebben elkaar te gast">(nl)</sup>|| Two deceivers always keep their own advantage in mind<ref>This |
|[[The Fox and the Stork]] dine together<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Le renard et le grue se divertissent l'un l'autre">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="De haan en de vos hebben elkaar te gast">(nl)</sup>|| Two deceivers always keep their own advantage in mind<ref group=note>This proverb clearly derives from [[Aesop's Fables]] ''[[The Fox and the Stork]]''.</ref>|| Middle|| [[Image:NP-87.jpg|100x100px]] |
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|To blow in the ear<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Souffler dans l'oreille">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Een oorblazer ">(nl)</sup>|| To spread gossip || Middle||[[Image:NP-114.jpg|100x100px]] |
|To blow in the ear<sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Souffler dans l'oreille">(fr)</sup><sup style="text-align:right; line-height:1em; margin-left:0.3em; color:blue; cursor:help; font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;" title="Een oorblazer ">(nl)</sup>|| To spread gossip || Middle||[[Image:NP-114.jpg|100x100px]] |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{reflist|group=note}} |
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===Footnotes=== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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*{{cite book|title=Bruegel: The Complete Paintings|author= |
*{{cite book|title=Bruegel: The Complete Paintings|author=Hagen, Rainer|editor=Hagen, Rose-Marie|publisher=Taschen|year=2000|pages=96|isbn=3822859915}} |
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*{{cite book|title=How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters |
*{{cite book|last=De Rynck|first=Patrick|title=How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters|publisher=Abrams|location=New York|year=1963|pages=379|isbn=0810955768}} |
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*{{cite web|url=http://www.uvm.edu/~fleming/index.php?category=exhibitions&page=netherlandish|title=The Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Younger |publisher=Fleming Museum, University of Vermont|year=2004|accessdate=18 May 2007}} |
*{{cite web|url=http://www.uvm.edu/~fleming/index.php?category=exhibitions&page=netherlandish|title=The Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Younger |publisher=Fleming Museum, University of Vermont|year=2004|accessdate=18 May 2007}} |
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*The Netherlandish Proverbs: An International Symposium on the Pieter Brueg(h)els |
*{{cite journal|last=Mieder|first=Wolfgang|authorlink=Wolfgang Mieder|title=The Netherlandish Proverbs: An International Symposium on the Pieter Brueg(h)els|journal=University of Vermont|year=2004}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
||
{{Cite book|title= |
{{Cite book|title=Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints|url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/97318|last=Orenstein|first=Nadine M. (ed.)|year=2001|publisher=[[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|isbn=9780870999901}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bruegel-the-dutch-proverbs.html Bruegel's The Dutch Proverbs], [[Smarthistory]] video, commentary by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker |
*[http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bruegel-the-dutch-proverbs.html Bruegel's The Dutch Proverbs], [[Smarthistory]] video, commentary by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker |
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*[http://s3.imagediver.org/topic/album/cg/The_Dutch_Proverbs/1/index.html The Netherlandish Proverbs, Zoomable and Annotated] |
*[http://s3.imagediver.org/topic/album/cg/The_Dutch_Proverbs/1/index.html The Netherlandish Proverbs, Zoomable and Annotated] |
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{{Paintings by Pieter Bruegel (I)}} |
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[[Category:Paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Elder]] |
[[Category:Paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Elder]] |
Revision as of 15:44, 12 August 2013
Netherlandish Proverbs | |
---|---|
Artist | Pieter Bruegel the Elder |
Year | 1559 |
Type | Oil-on-panel |
Location | Staatliche Museen, Berlin |
Netherlandish Proverbs (Dutch: Nederlandse Spreekwoorden; also called Flemish Proverbs, The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder that depicts a scene populated with literal depictions of Dutch language proverbs current in the Low Countries at the time.
Bruegel's paintings have running themes of the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of humans, and this painting is no exception. The picture originally was entitled The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World indicating that he was not intending to just depict proverbs, but rather, a study of human stupidity. Many of the people depicted show the characteristic blank features that Bruegel used to portray fools.[1]
His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, who specialised in making copies of his father's work, painted at least 16 copies of Netherlandish Proverbs.[2] Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs and also differ in other minor details.
History
Context
Proverbs were extremely popular at the time Breughel was working. From around a hundred years before Breugels' painting, illustrations of proverbs had been popular in Flemish Book of hours.[3] A number of collections were published, including a notable work by the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus.[4] The French writer François Rabelais used employed significant numbers in his novel Gargantua and Pantagruel, completed in 1564.[5]
The Flemish artist Frans Hogenberg had produced an engraving illustrating 43 proverbs in around 1558.[6][7] The work was very similar to Breugel's work in composition, and included certain proverbs (like the blue cloak) which also featured prominently in Netherlandish Proverbs.[7] by depicting literal renditions of proverbs in a peasant setting, the artist was able to produce the ethos of a "world turned upside down", clearly echoed by Breugel.[7]
Bruegel himself had painted several minor paintings on the subject of proverbs including Big Fish Eat Little Fish (1556) and Twelve Proverbs (1558), but Netherlandish Proverbs is thought to haven been the first large-scale painting on the theme.
Proverbs
Critics have praised the composition for its ordered portrayal and integrated scene.[7] There are approximately 112 identifiable idioms or proverbs in the scene, although Bruegel may have included others which cannot be determined. Some of those incorporated in the painting are still in popular use, for instance "Swimming against the tide", "Banging one's head against a brick wall" or "Armed to the teeth", and there are some that are familiar if not identical to the modern English usage such as "casting roses before swine". Many more have faded from use or have never been used in English. "Having one's roof tiled with tarts", for example, which meant to have an abundance of everything and was an image Bruegel would later feature in his painting of the idyllic Land of Cockaigne (1567).
The Blue Cloak, the piece's original title, features in the centre of the piece and is being placed on a man by his wife, indicative that she was cuckolding him. Other proverbs indicate human foolishness. A man fills in a pond after his calf has died. Just above the central figure of the blue-cloaked man another man carries daylight in a basket. Some of the figures seem to represent more than one figure of speech (whether this was Bruegel's intention or not is unknown), such as the man shearing a sheep in the centre bottom left of the picture. He is sitting next to a man shearing a pig, so represents the expression "One shears sheep and one shears pigs" meaning that one has the advantage over the other, but may also represent the advice "Shear them but don't skin them" meaning make the most of available assets.
List of proverbs featured in the painting
Proverb | Meaning | Area | Image |
---|---|---|---|
To even be able to tie the devil to a pillow (fr)(nl) | Obstinacy overcomes everything | Lower left | |
To be a pillar-biter (fr)(nl) | To be a religious hypocrite | Lower left | |
Never believe someone who carries fire in one hand and water in the other (fr)(nl) | To be two-faced and to stir up trouble | Lower left | |
To bang one's head against a brick wall (fr)(nl) | To try to achieve the impossible | Lower left | |
One foot shod, the other bare(fr)(nl) | Balance is paramount | Lower left | |
The sow pulls the bung (fr)(nl) | Negligence will be rewarded with disaster | Lower left | |
To bell the cat (fr)(nl) | To carry out a dangerous or impractical plan | Lower left | |
To be armed to the teeth (fr)(nl) | To be heavily armed | Lower left | |
To put your armor on (fr)(nl) | To be angry | Lower left | |
One shears sheep, the other shears pigs (fr)(nl) | One has all the advantages, the other none | Lower left | |
Shear them but do not skin them (fr)(nl) | Do not press your advantage too far | Lower left | |
The herring does not fry here(fr)(nl) | It's not going according to plan | Lower left | |
To fry the whole herring for the sake of the roe (nl) | To do too much to achieve a little | Lower left | |
To get the lid on the head (nl) | To end up taking responsibility | Lower left | |
The herring hangs by its own gills (fr)(nl) | You must accept responsibility for your own actions | Lower left | |
There is more in it than an empty herring (nl) | There is more to it than meets the eye | Lower left | |
What can smoke do to iron? (fr)(nl) | There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable | Lower left | |
To find the dog in the pot (fr)(nl) | To arrive too late for dinner and find all the food has been eaten | Lower left[note 1] | |
To sit between two stools in the ashes (fr)(nl) | To be indecisive | Lower left | |
To be a hen feeler (fr)(nl) | To depend on an uncertain outcome (c.f. to count one's chickens before they hatch) | Middle left | |
The scissors hang out there (fr)(nl) | They are liable to cheat you there | Upper left | |
To always gnaw on a single bone (fr)(nl) | To continually talk about the same subject | Upper left | |
It depends on the fall of the cards (fr)(nl) | It is up to chance | Upper left | |
The world is turned upside down (fr)(nl) | Everything is the opposite of what it should be | Upper left | |
Leave at least one egg in the nest (fr)(nl) | Always have something in reserve | Upper left | |
To crap on the world (fr)(nl) | To despise everything | Upper left | |
To lead each other by the nose (fr)(nl) | To fool each other | Upper left | |
The die is cast (fr)(nl) | The decision is made | Upper left | |
Fools get the best cards (fr)(nl) | Luck can overcome intelligence | Upper left | |
To look through one's fingers (fr)(nl) | To turn a blind eye | Upper left | |
There hangs the knife (fr)(nl) | To issue a challenge | Upper left | |
There stand the wooden shoes (fr)(nl) | To wait in vain | Upper left | |
To stick out the broom (fr)(nl) | To have fun while the master is away | Upper left | |
To marry under the broomstick (fr)(nl) | To live together without marrying | Upper left | |
To have the roof tiled with tarts (fr)(nl) | To be very wealthy | Upper left | |
To have a hole in one's roof (fr)(nl) | To be unintelligent | Upper left | |
An old roof needs a lot of patching up (fr)(nl) | Old things need more maintenance | Upper left | |
The roof has lathes(fr)(nl) | There could be eavesdroppers (The walls have ears) | Middle left | |
To have toothache behind the ears(fr)(nl) | To be a malingerer | Middle left | |
To be pissing against the moon(fr)(nl) | To waste one's time on a futile endeavour | Middle left | |
Here hangs the pot(fr)(nl) | It is the opposite of what it should be | Middle left | |
To shoot a second bolt to find the first(fr)(nl) | To repeat a foolish action | Upper left | |
To shave the fool without lather(fr)(nl) | To trick somebody | Middle | |
Two fools under one hood(fr)(nl) | Stupidity loves company | Middle | |
It grows out of the window(fr)(nl) | It cannot be concealed | Middle | |
To play on the pillory(fr)(nl) | To attract attention to one's shameful acts | Upper Middle | |
Where the gate is open the pigs will run into the corn(fr)(nl) | Disaster ensues from carelessness | Upper Middle | |
Where the corn decreases the pig increases | If one person gains then another must lose | Upper Middle | |
To run like one's backside is on fire(fr)(nl) | To be in great distress | Upper Middle | |
He who eats fire, craps sparks | Do not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous venture | Upper Middle | |
To hang one's cloak according to the wind(fr)(nl) | To adapt one's viewpoint to the current opinion | Upper Middle | |
To toss feathers in the wind (fr)(nl) | To work fruitlessly | Upper Middle | |
To gaze at the stork(fr)(nl) | To waste one's time | Upper Middle | |
To want to kill two flies with one stroke(fr)(nl) | To be efficient (equivalent to today's To kill two birds with one stone) | Upper Middle | |
To fall from the ox onto the rear end of an ass(fr)(nl) | To fall on hard times | Upper Middle | |
To kiss the ring of the door (fr)(nl) | To be obsequious | Upper Middle | |
To wipe one's backside on the door (fr)(nl) | To treat something lightly | Upper Middle | |
To go around shouldering a burden (nl) | To imagine that things are worse than they are | Upper Middle | |
One beggar pities the other standing in front of the door(nl) | Being afraid for competition | Upper Middle | |
To fish behind the net (fr)(nl) | To miss an opportunity | Middle | |
Sharks eat smaller fish (fr)(nl) | Anything people say will be put in perspective according to their level of importance | Middle | |
To be unable to see the sun shine on the water(fr)(nl) | To be jealous of another's success | Middle | |
It hangs like a privy over a ditch (fr)(nl) | It is obvious | Middle | |
Anybody can see through an oak plank if there is a hole in it (fr)(nl) | There is no point in stating the obvious | Middle | |
They both crap through the same hole (fr)(nl) | They are in agreement | Middle | |
To throw one's money into the water(fr)(nl) | To waste one's money | Middle | |
A wall with cracks will soon collapse(fr)(nl) | Anything poorly managed will soon fail | Middle right | |
To not care whose house is on fire as long as one can warm oneself at the blaze(fr)(nl) | To take every opportunity regardless of the consequences to others | Middle right | |
To drag the block(fr)(nl) | To be deceived by a lover or to work at a pointless task | Upper right | |
Fear makes the old woman trot(fr)(nl) | An unexpected event can reveal unknown qualities | Upper right | |
Horse droppings are not figs (fr)(nl) | Do not be fooled by appearances | Upper right | |
If the blind lead the blind both will fall in the ditch(fr)(nl) | There is no point in being guided by others who are equally ignorant | Upper right | |
The journey is not yet over when one can discern the church and steeple (fr)(nl) | Do not give up until the task is fully complete | Upper right | |
Everything, however finely spun, finally comes to the sun(nl) | Nothing can be hidden forever | Upper right | |
To keep one's eye on the sail(fr)(nl) | To stay alert, be wary | Upper right | |
To crap on the gallows(fr)(nl) | To be undeterred by any penalty | Upper right | |
Where the carcass is, there fly the crows(fr)(nl) | If there's something to be gained, everyone hurries in front | Upper right | |
It is easy to sail before the wind(fr)(nl) | If conditions are favourable it is not difficult to achieve one's goal | Upper right | |
Who knows why geese go barefoot?(fr)(nl) | There is a reason for everything, though it may not be obvious | Upper right | |
If I am not meant to be their keeper, I will let geese be geese | Do not interfere in matters that are not your concern | Upper right | |
To see bears dancing[note 2](fr)(nl) | To be starving | Right | |
Wild bears prefer each other's company[note 2](nl) | Peers get along better with each other than with outsiders | Right | |
To throw one's cowl over the fence(fr)(nl) | To discard something without knowing whether it will be required later | Right | |
It is ill to swim against the stream(fr)(nl) | It is difficult to oppose the general opinion | Right | |
The pitcher goes to the water until it finally breaks(fr)(nl) | Everything has its limitations | Right | |
The broadest straps are cut from someone else's leather (fr)(nl) | One is quick to expend belongings that aren't their own. | Right | |
To hold an eel by the tail(fr)(nl) | To undertake a difficult task | Right | |
To fall through the basket(fr)(nl) | To have your deception uncovered | Right | |
To be suspended between heaven and earth(nl) | To be in an awkward situation | Right | |
To take the hen's egg and let the goose's egg go(fr)(nl) | To make a bad decision | Right | |
To yawn against the oven(fr)(nl) | To attempt more than one can manage | Lower right | |
To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another(fr)(nl) | To have difficulty living within budget | Lower right | |
A hoe without a handle(fr)(nl) | Probably something useless[note 3] | Lower right | |
To look for the hatchet(fr)(nl) | To try to find an excuse | Lower right | |
Here he is with his lantern(nl) | To finally have an opportunity to show a talent | Lower right | |
A hatchet with a handle(fr)(nl) | Probably signifies "the whole thing"[note 3] | Lower right | |
He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again(fr)(nl) | Once something is done it cannot be undone | Lower right | |
To put a spoke in someone's wheel(fr)(nl) | To put up an obstacle, to destroy someone's plans | Lower right | |
Love is on the side where the money bag hangs(fr)(nl) | Love can be bought | Lower right | |
To pull to get the longest end(fr)(nl) | To attempt to get the advantage | Lower right | |
To stand in one's own light(nl) | To behave contrarily to one's own happiness or advantage | Lower right | |
No one looks for others in the oven who has not been in there himself(nl) | To imagine wickedness in others is a sign of wickedness in oneself | Lower right | |
To have the world spinning on one's thumb(fr)(nl) | To have every advantage | Lower right | |
To tie a flaxen beard to the face of Christ(fr)(nl) | To hide deceit under a veneer of Christian piety | Lower right | |
To have to stoop to get on in the world(fr)(nl) | To succeed one must be willing to make sacrifices | Lower right | |
To cast roses before swine(nl) | To waste effort on the unworthy | Lower middle | |
To fill the well after the calf has already drowned(fr)(nl) | To take action only after a disaster (Compare: "Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted") | Lower middle | |
To be as tame as a lamb(fr)(nl) | Someone who is exceptionally calm or gentle | Lower middle | |
She puts the blue cloak on her husband(fr)(nl) | She deceives him | Lower middle | |
Watch out that a black dog does not come in between(fr)(nl) | Mind that things don't go wrong | Lower middle | |
One winds on the distaff what the other spins(fr)(nl) | Both spread gossip | Lower middle | |
To carry the day out in baskets(fr)(nl) | To waste one's time | Middle | |
To hold a candle to the Devil(fr)(nl) | To flatter and make friends indiscriminately | Middle | |
To confess to the Devil(fr)(nl) | To reveal secrets to one's enemy | Middle | |
The pig is stabbed through the belly(fr)(nl) | A foregone conclusion or what is done can not be undone | Middle | |
Two dogs over one bone seldom agree(fr)(nl) | To argue over a single point | Middle | |
To be a skimming ladle(fr)(nl) | To be a parasite or sponger | Middle | |
What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it?(fr)(nl) | Beauty does not make up for substance | Middle | |
The Fox and the Stork dine together(fr)(nl) | Two deceivers always keep their own advantage in mind[note 4] | Middle | |
To blow in the ear(fr)(nl) | To spread gossip | Middle | |
Chalk up a debt(fr)(nl) | To owe someone a favour | Middle | |
The meat on the spit must be basted(fr)(nl) | Certain things need constant attention | Middle | |
There is no turning the spit with him(fr)(nl) | He is uncooperative | Middle | |
To sit on hot coals(fr)(nl) | To be impatient | Middle | |
To catch fish without a net(fr)(nl) | To profit from the work of others | Middle |
Modern use
A cropped version of this painting is used as the cover of the American indie folk band Fleet Foxes' self titled release.
Notes
- ^ The condition of the painting makes it almost impossible to make out the dog.
- ^ a b The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.
- ^ a b The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.
- ^ This proverb clearly derives from Aesop's Fables The Fox and the Stork.
Footnotes
- ^ "Pieter Bruegel". APARENCES. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ Wisse, Jacob. "Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525/30–1569)". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ Rudy, Kathryn M. (2007). "Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and the Borders of a Flemish Book of Hours". Manuscripten en miniaturen: Studies aangeboden aan Anne S. Korteweg bij haar afscheid van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Zutphen: Walburg Pers. ISBN 9789057304712.
- ^ Erasmus, Desiderius. Adagia (Leiden 1700 ed.). University of Leiden: Department of Dutch language and literature.
- ^ O'Kane, Eleanor (1950). "The Proverb: Rabelais and Cervantes". Comparative Literature. 2 (4): 360–369. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
{{cite journal}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Lebeer, L. (1939–40). "De Blauwe Huyck". Gentsche Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis. 6: 161–229.
- ^ a b c d "Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt / Maer des weerelts abuisen het beter betaempt". Prints. Nicolaas Teeuwisse. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ Hagen 2000, pp. 36–7.
- ^ "Spreekwoorden". Middeleeuwen. Literatuurgeschiedenis.nl. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
References
- Hagen, Rainer (2000). Hagen, Rose-Marie (ed.). Bruegel: The Complete Paintings. Taschen. p. 96. ISBN 3822859915.
- De Rynck, Patrick (1963). How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters. New York: Abrams. p. 379. ISBN 0810955768.
- "The Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Younger". Fleming Museum, University of Vermont. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
- Mieder, Wolfgang (2004). "The Netherlandish Proverbs: An International Symposium on the Pieter Brueg(h)els". University of Vermont.
Further reading
Orenstein, Nadine M. (ed.) (2001). Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870999901. {{cite book}}
: |first=
has generic name (help)
External links
- Bruegel's The Dutch Proverbs, Smarthistory video, commentary by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker
- The Netherlandish Proverbs, Zoomable and Annotated