The Integration and Elevation found in Bruegel’s Paintings

Pieter Bruegel painted a set of six pieces each depicting a part of the year, only five of which are still around.  These five are included in this exhibit.  In these paintings Bruegel elevates both the people and the landscape and integrates the two.   One of Antoine Watteau’s pieces is also included in the exhibit simply for contrast, to reinforce what Pieter Bruegel is doing with both his subjects and the landscape.  Bruegel is true to life and is a detail-oriented painter. His pieces are full of thin brushstrokes and sharp edges.  One way he elevates the people and the land is in his use of detail and his realistic effort to be true to life.  He uses sharp edges to bring to life the landscape and not allow it to merely blend into the background.  He also uses detail to help distinguish the laborers.  By making the peasants unique Bruegel is giving each value.  Not all details are illuminated in the paintings, and Bruegel’s work is stylized to some extent, especially in the shapes he uses and in his lack of shading.  His landscapes often cover up most of the piece, further emphasizing their importance.  The people and the land are integrated through the activities of the people and the shape of the land.  Additionally, the colors used for the people are similar to the colors of the landscape so the people end up blending into the landscape and becoming further integrated with it.  Sometimes these people are scattered throughout the piece and sometimes they form a path to help direct our eyes to the landscape.  Bruegel also uses perspective and color to bring to light the three-dimensional quality of the land further elevating it.

Pieter Bruegel, The Harvesters, 1565

Oil on Wood, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19.164

Ordinary peasants are at work in a field, harvesting the grain against a background of village life.  These peasants are working the land and are very integrated with the landscape.  One worker is using a tree as a headrest while many are using its shade.  The piece centers on the landscape and what is being done to it.  The landscape both takes up most the space of the painting and provides most of the material for the activities of the people.  The peasants are wearing reds, and yellows, blues and whites, all of which blend in well with the golden fields around them. Perspective is used to help show the vastness of the land, which stretches out beyond them.  Additionally, the use of bright vibrant colors for the harvesting scene, and much darker and duller colors for the background further enhances the sense of depth. 

 Pieter Bruegel, The Gloomy Day,  1565

Oil on Wood, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Here again you see ordinary peasants performing their ordinary work of cutting down birch and collecting it.  Village houses are scattered in the land beyond the workers; however, the colors of the workers and their houses are so similar to the land that you almost have to look twice to even see them at all.  This painting shows the people as part of the land.  The land is where they work, its where they live, and its where they fit in.

Pieter Bruegel, The Return of the Herd, 1565 

Oil on Wood, Kunsthistorisches Museum

In this painting a group of peasants are leading their herd up a hill and the vast landscape is shown in the background.  The peasants are arranged in a diagonal line that leads the viewer’s eyes into the landscape beyond.  This landscape is diverse containing mountains, hills, and plains, with a river cutting through them all.  The diversity of the landscape shows the beauty of each section of land and how each land type compliments the beauty of the others.  The land also provides some narration for the piece.  Ominous clouds are coming in so the herdsmen are in more of a rush to get their herd back.  

Hunters in the Snow, Pieter Bruegel, 1565

Oil on Wood, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Here hunters are returning to their village covered in snow and looking a bit exhausted from their long day of work.  The landscape is clearly elevated as it takes up most of the space.  Further elevation of the land is shown in that the season of the land provides the colors for the painting.  The painting has icy greens, greys and whites, just as you would expect of a winter day.  In the painting the line of hunters and dogs directs our eyes into the landscape beyond where the people are so small and scattered that they can easily be mistaken as trees.

 Pieter Bruegel, Haymaking, 1565 

Oil on Wood, Lobkowicz Collection

Here peasants are at work collecting the hay of the land.  The peasants are mirroring the color of the land, but stand out more from the land than in many of Bruegel’s other pieces.  Though the peasants are generally similar and dressed in a similar fashion, little details of each are included to make each peasant unique.  For instance, the three women in the front are wearing hats of different shapes and colors, possibly giving small insights into their varying personalities and showing them as unique individuals.  Bruegel further elevates these peasants and their work by painting the peasants in a pleasant way and even giving them kind peaceful expressions.

Jean-Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to the Isle of Cythera, 1717

Oil on Canvas, Louvre

In this painting some wealthier individuals are scattered over a hill, many having their backs to us.  This painting is not showing an ordinary peasant doing an ordinary task, but instead some upper class individuals enjoying their leisurely time.  The landscape contains no detail and is simply a fuzz of activity surrounding the people.  The landscape is merely serving as a backdrop, as the setting that must be there in order to present the people.  Additionally, there is no integration of the characters with the land.  They are neither involved with the land nor do their colors blend into the land.  Their brighter pinks and blues stand out from the yellows and greens of the land.