Bruegel and the Foibles of Humanity

Flemish Proverbs, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1559. Oil on panel. Gemaldegalerie, Berlin.

In the 16th century, the viewing audience in the Netherlands were obsessed with clever imagery depicting the foibles of humanity. In this painting, Bruegel’s deep understanding of human nature becomes apparent through his visual interpretations of over one hundred proverbs.

I'd like to zoom in on two details—the painting includes a depiction of a globe with a cross upside down, and one with the cross right side up. The first one appears on the left side of the painting just below the open window. What was the artist's intention?

The upside-down globe symbolizes the false values upon which society rests. More fully developed forms of capitalism began to emerge in Northern Europe in the 16th century. As Madonna once noted, We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl. Of course, we need resources to live, but Bruegel is commenting on our obsession with excessive wealth and luxury. As relevant then as it is now, we could see this reference as a commentary on our elevation of those who have extraordinary fortunes and power–the billionaire titans who apparently rule the world, and in many ways control our individual lives.

On the lower right, we see a figure with a globe right-side up. The expensive fabrics he wears denote his status as a nobleman. He balances the globe on his thumb representing the whimsy with which the powerful rule the world. And what of the poor man captured inside the large sideways globe? My thought is that he represents those who bow to the whims of the mighty. I'd like to think we have choice.

Bruegel incorporated a vast vocabulary of symbols in his work that were readily understood by viewers of the time, but whose meaning is lost to modern eyes, even though they have much to reveal about our own foibles. Unraveling the hidden, mysterious meanings behind works of art is known as the study of iconography, and I hope you have enjoyed this small taste. The information in this article was excerpted from my presentation Decoding Mysterious Meanings–Hidden Symbols in Art. To receive my weekly blogs via email, keep informed of my upcoming presentations and exhibitions, discounts on art-related products and giveaways, please subscribe at: www.deniselaurinvisualart.com/