Pieter Bruegel the Elder, "The Harvesters"


       This week I ask you to spend some time with this painting.  Take two fingers and pull and stretch to examine every corner.  It is amazing the detail you will see and enjoy.  The artist is Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca.1525-1569), and yes, there was a "Younger".  Pieter Bruegel the Younger was the son of  today's artist and my memory reminds me he was not as talented or accomplished as his father.    
      This huge vista in today's painting was done in 1565 as a commission of six works depicting the seasons, of which only four are known to exist today. Bruegel was then 40 years old and at the height of his career.  The scene is Flanders, the Dutch speaking area of north Belgium close to the Netherlands and France.  For the time, this is a totally remarkable painting.  The Reformation is in full swing dividing Europe into Protestant north and Roman Catholic south.  Almost all painting has been religious in nature, or portraits and so suddenly, here in Flanders comes an artist committed to landscapes and the life of peasant people.  It is a new humanism, unidealized, and based on the artist's observation.  What a wonderful treasure he has gifted to us today.     
   Looking close we can see exactly what life was like in 1565.  It appears they had a excellent crop and now the hard work of bringing it in has begun.  In the distance (far right, middle) an oxen driven cart is taking a load of wheat away, while down that path a little more (painting center) are youth in play at a game.  Way out in the distance, just at the center horizon line, we can see merchant or fishing boats nestled in the harbor.  Way off to our right, about center two women are doing something with what looks like fruit dropped from the tree above.  
    Even though the workers are fully dressed, long sleeves and pants, skirts, the weather appears warm, as the group collects under the solo tree for lunch and a little shade.  But it must be humid, as it appears foggy out closer to the sea.   
   The structure of the painting is as remarkable as the subject.  Notice the snake like shape starting in the lower left corner in yellow/gold and cutting directly through the format changing to dark green.  It divides the painting into an upper and lower landscape.  Not direct center, but close is the huge foreground tree providing a little shade for our workers lunch.  Balancing this large yellow/gold foreground is a rise of wheat in the distance.  Also, notice the circular scoop of the path.  We find it on left center running up the incline, through the uncut wheat, scooping up again behind the tree to the green area.   This painting is truly a masterful work.  So much to see, so much to learn, and delight in.  
    "The Harvesters" is an oil on wood.   It measures 47 x 64 inches and is part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.   Again, Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted it in 1565.   
   Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.

Comments

  1. Char HarguthJuly 27, 2021 at 8:45 AM

    Yes, certainly detail and activity in every area. But everything seems so neat and orderly; the straight rows, the sheaves, and the shocks. They are a hard working compatible community, men and women toiling together to accomplish the tasks at hand. A church behind the trees suggests they are people of faith. The group around the tree are enjoying their turn at a break. I'm guessing these are proud people and no shirkers in the bunch. It's so busy but yet peaceful and quiet, no loud harvesting machines interrupting the silence!!!! He treats his subject with respect and skillful execution. So much to see in one painting, it requires some time to study this work and imagine the time it must have taken him. The composition is amazing; I appreciated your describing it.

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