... between 1562 and 1566 the Low Countries experienced several particularly cold and harsh winters such winters had a significant impact on people, including artists such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder

1. ... between 1562 and 1566 the Low Countries experienced several particularly cold and harsh winters
such winters had a significant impact on people, including artists such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder

3. The winter of Bruegel

5. in a Flemish village …

6. Pieter Bruegel, the Elder
Adoration of the Magi in a Winter Landscape
1563
Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur

9. the village is completely covered by snow…
the water is frozen under the bridge
the ruined building seems to be an old church

13. the Adoration is barely visible
(contrary to the recommendations of the Counter-Reformation, which advocates the representation
of easily identifiable subjects)

15. a precarious refuge shelters the Holy family
the Virgin is not dressed in blue, but a coat that looks ocher
the child is just a little clearer task
Joseph is invisible, even if one imagines it very well
two Magi are kneeling, the black King is standing behind them

21. men in arms (crossbows, halberds)
two dromedaries that recall the origin of the Magi
and
in parallel to this extraordinary procession …
the daily life of the villagers under the snow

25. under a radiant sky,
in a beautiful snow-covered landscape
a Flemish village is delivered to the blind violence of soldiers …

26. Pieter Bruegel, the Elder
The Massacre of the Innocents
1566
Royal Collection, London

29. a biblical tale
and
a 16th century Flemish village in the middle of winter

32. mothers grieving or haggard
howling with terror and pain,
fathers begging, helpless ...
and, in contrast
the impassibility of soldiers grouped in a tight row at the bottom of the village square,
of nationality identifiable in their manner of holding their lance vertically
framing the massacre are tightened around a figure in black armour …

43. the innocence of birds in the face of the threat of the trap
and
the carefree play of skaters on fragile ice
… a warning to the observer to be on his guard against constant danger

44. Pieter Bruegel, the Elder
Winter Landscape with Skaters and Bird Trap
1565
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

48. the subtlety of a snowy landscape ...
magnificent winter sky
frozen surfaces
the boats remained rigid and stationary, prisoners caught in the ice
the villagers are enjoying themselves skating on the ice of a frozen river,
others play with pucks and sticks

53. behind an apparent serenity ...

57. birds peck at seeds, unaware of the wooden trap teetering just above their heads …
in the harsh Brabant winters, even small birds were tempting prey
skaters on a frozen river
and
birds that gather around a trap,
meet here in their insouciance and their vulnerability towards the perils facing them …

64. olga_oes
The winter of Bruegel
images and text credit www.
Music Beethoven's 5 Secrets - The Piano Guys
created olga.e.
thanks for watching