The Greatest of the Netherlandish painters of the 16th. century, Bruegel's paintings, no matter how huge a slice of the world he may show the, activities of man (genre) remains the dominant theme of his work. His consumate skill in the use of line and shape and subtley in tonal harmony make him one of the greatest landscape painters of all time and a an occidental counterpart of the great masters of classical Chinese landscape.
On a more personal level he enjoyes making a critical/satirical comment on the dubious conditions of mankind. He seems to delight in leading us into this pictures through devious paths and confronting us sometimes with mystery, sometimes with a less than flattering revelation about ourselves... contempory to his time as well as ours.
THE CRITIC...THE PEASANT DANCE
Based on an old German/Netherlandish proverby:
What the Old Sing the Young Whistle... Think about it!
The Parable of the Blind
"And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matt. 15: 12-19)
The period we have just been looking at, The Renaissance, was not only a dramatic period of change in the visual arts but in all western society in general... Humanist views such as the Florentine humanist Giannozzo Manetti would eventual lead to the Protestant Reformation and the spliting of Europe into hostile religious camps. Advance in the sciences would challange traditional thinking and throw all into doubt. But thats another story.
Lynn University Art Appreciation