A Peasant Wedding
Here is a snapshot of a lively summer wedding reception… painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, in 1567.
We watch the celebration feast from the corner of a barn and the foreground has been left unobstructed so we may enter the scene. The strong diagonal of the table draws our gaze and the lively guests beckon us in further.
There is so much going on that we linger to absorb every detail. The rhythm of white shapes draws our gaze around the table and the predominant vibrant reds and golds, evoke warmth — of summer and the sentiments of the ceremony. The solidity of the figures carrying the food is monumental and worthy of a religious icon painting. However, the faces of the guests and the prominent piper are so authentic that one could recognise similarly real characters passing by on a modern street.
Practically unprecedented in Western Art, we have a candid picture of this slice of life for everyday folk — not aristocracy, not allegorical or historical. Pieter Bruegel the Elder completed this masterpiece around 1567, just two years before his death.
Bruegel was born in Breda on the border between Belgium and Holland around 1525. He trained as a painter, moving to Antwerp in 1545 to take-up an apprenticeship under Pieter Coercke van Aest, who died in 1550. The following…
