Pieter Bruegel the Elder- Netherlandish Proverbs, 1559
I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied ’round their throats
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow
And I turned ’round and there you go
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow red
As strawberries in the summertime
—White Winter Hymnal, The Fleet Foxes
I felt like hearing the song White Winter Hymnal though it is still technically not yet winter. But it is cold and there is a light covering of snow on the ground in these parts. I checked to see when I had last played it here and saw that it was in 2018 along with the post below. Since it was a favorite Bruegel painting, one that never fails to grab my attention, I decided to run it again.
I was listening to some music early this morning and came across this song, one that I hadn’t heard in a number of years. Thought it might be a good one to share if only to show the painting that adorned the album cover from which it came.
The painting is from Pieter Bruegel the Elder from 1559. It has come to be known as Netherlandish Proverbs though its original title was The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World. It has also been known as The Topsy Turvy World which I personally like.
Like any Bruegel painting, it is a pleasure for the viewer with their gorgeous warm colors and dense compositions that make it feel like there is always something more to see. The painting certainly lives up to that feeling, containing depictions of over 120 proverbs or idioms used by the Dutch at the time.
Many are comical, pointing out the absurdity of the world, and some are still in use, such as “Banging your head against a brick wall” which you can see in the bottom left-hand corner. Others have faded from usage, like “Having one’s roof tiled with tarts” which indicates that one is very wealthy. Some are surprisingly scatological, such as “He who eats fire, craps sparks,” which is about the same as our current “If you mess with fire expect to get burnt.”
If you go to the Wikipedia page for the painting there is a complete list of the proverbs along with the imagery for each. I am enjoying it as I work my way through the list. Even without the list, looking closely at a Bruegel painting is always a great pleasure, as I pointed out above.
The painting was used on the cover of the Seattle based Fleet Foxes‘ self-titled 2008 first album. The song is White Winter Hymnal which works well for this time of the season. The lyrics are actually kind of nonsensical (the verse at the top is basically the whole song) but the song with its ringing harmonies is lovely and the video is interesting. The song has also been covered by the acapella group Pentatonix.
So, take some time to really look at the painting and use the list to see if what can identify what Bruegel was saying.
Redtree Times 