DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44747#0038
Ill-The World o£ the Seasons:
Seasonal Changes of the Year with Macrocosmic and Microcosmic
Views of the World, Not a mere Representation of the Months
Although there were two hundred primary schools operated by
communal religious orders, Fratres Vitae Communis, in Antwerp at
the time, there is no indication of a place of “learning” in this paint-
ing. One feels that Bruegel wanted to emphasize in visual form the
idea that play is the most appropriate activity for children. In this
sense, the Children’s Games stands in contrast to the adult world of
the Netherlandish Proverbs with its adult-oriented dwellings, farm
villages, corn fields, fortress, pubs, and workshops. In fact, there are
no children to be found in the latter painting.
In the mid-sixteenth century Antwerp became one of the most
flourishing international centers of commerce in Europe, on a par
with Paris and Venice, and the large public squares were used as
places of trade. The city was densely-populated with houses built
close together, so in reality the children did not have as much room
to play as shown in this picture. It is likely that Bruegel believed
that children should be given more freedom to play, since it was such
an important activity in their growth process, necessary for building
strong bodies, developing the mind, and providing experience of
cooperation with other children. At a time when the infant mortality
rate was extremely high, because of poor medical care for children
and the lack of preventive measures for contagious diseases, it was
considered desirable to discipline the body through exercise to build
resistance against illness. Demonstrating these concerns, Bruegel
created a monumental view of the “world of children” with an artis-
tic brilliance never achieved by any previous or, in my opinion, later
artist.
Bruegel painted a major series in mid-career from which five
paintings remain, Hunters in the Snow, Gloomy Day, Haymaking,
Corn Harvest, and Return of the Herd. Some scholars believe that
each painting represents a particular month, and that therefore they
were part of a set of twelve paintings (with seven missing).47) Others
hold that each represents two months so that there was a set of six
(with just one missing).48^ In either case, the five existing paintings
are usually thought of as a Labors of the Months cycle. It would seem
that there is a better case for the second view, that there were origi-
nally six paintings, on the basis of at least two bits of documentation.
The first is an entry in a cash disbursement ledger made by the
secretary of Archduke Ernst, governor of the Netherlands, when this
series of paintings was presented to the governor by the city of
Antwerp on July 5, 1594. It reads, “The 5th. Gentlemen of the city
of Antwerp sent six paintings and eight tapestries portraying the
twelve months to the archduke.” The second is an entry from an
inventory of Archduke Ernst’s possessions made on July 17, 1595,
noting “six paintings representing the twelve months of the year by
Bruegel.”4?)
Thus, I support the six-panel thesis, but unlike other scholars I do
not believe that each painting is specifically limited to the agricultural
activities of two specific months. Some of the labors or festivals
depicted in the Bruegel paintings can be found associated with as
many as three months in other paintings and prints.50J Therefore,
I prefer to call them Seasons rather than Months essentially the same
position as that of Van Ossen (1951) and Klaus Demus (1981). I have
studied the Labors of the Months depicted in Books of Hours and
breviaries made by the workshop of Simon Bening and illumi-
nators of manuscripts like Gerard Horenbout and Hortulus Animae
who were active in the sixteenth century as well as the iconography
of Months prints by Virgil Solis, Etienne Delaunne, the Rue
Montorgueil workshop, Hans Bol, and others. I was able to establish
that a number of traditional images from the Labors of the Months
are depicted in the five existing paintings by Bmegel, but also
found that the correspondence of labors and months is not always
consistent.
Paul Bril, for example, made a set of six prints of the Labors of
the Months, each representing two months, which serves as a useful
reference for comparison. In Bril’s March and April (fig. 9), for ex-
ample, the pruning of trees and tying of grape vines to stakes is shown
on the left and labeled March while the gardening is shown on the
right and labeled April. The agricultural tasks belonging to each
48
Seasonal Changes of the Year with Macrocosmic and Microcosmic
Views of the World, Not a mere Representation of the Months
Although there were two hundred primary schools operated by
communal religious orders, Fratres Vitae Communis, in Antwerp at
the time, there is no indication of a place of “learning” in this paint-
ing. One feels that Bruegel wanted to emphasize in visual form the
idea that play is the most appropriate activity for children. In this
sense, the Children’s Games stands in contrast to the adult world of
the Netherlandish Proverbs with its adult-oriented dwellings, farm
villages, corn fields, fortress, pubs, and workshops. In fact, there are
no children to be found in the latter painting.
In the mid-sixteenth century Antwerp became one of the most
flourishing international centers of commerce in Europe, on a par
with Paris and Venice, and the large public squares were used as
places of trade. The city was densely-populated with houses built
close together, so in reality the children did not have as much room
to play as shown in this picture. It is likely that Bruegel believed
that children should be given more freedom to play, since it was such
an important activity in their growth process, necessary for building
strong bodies, developing the mind, and providing experience of
cooperation with other children. At a time when the infant mortality
rate was extremely high, because of poor medical care for children
and the lack of preventive measures for contagious diseases, it was
considered desirable to discipline the body through exercise to build
resistance against illness. Demonstrating these concerns, Bruegel
created a monumental view of the “world of children” with an artis-
tic brilliance never achieved by any previous or, in my opinion, later
artist.
Bruegel painted a major series in mid-career from which five
paintings remain, Hunters in the Snow, Gloomy Day, Haymaking,
Corn Harvest, and Return of the Herd. Some scholars believe that
each painting represents a particular month, and that therefore they
were part of a set of twelve paintings (with seven missing).47) Others
hold that each represents two months so that there was a set of six
(with just one missing).48^ In either case, the five existing paintings
are usually thought of as a Labors of the Months cycle. It would seem
that there is a better case for the second view, that there were origi-
nally six paintings, on the basis of at least two bits of documentation.
The first is an entry in a cash disbursement ledger made by the
secretary of Archduke Ernst, governor of the Netherlands, when this
series of paintings was presented to the governor by the city of
Antwerp on July 5, 1594. It reads, “The 5th. Gentlemen of the city
of Antwerp sent six paintings and eight tapestries portraying the
twelve months to the archduke.” The second is an entry from an
inventory of Archduke Ernst’s possessions made on July 17, 1595,
noting “six paintings representing the twelve months of the year by
Bruegel.”4?)
Thus, I support the six-panel thesis, but unlike other scholars I do
not believe that each painting is specifically limited to the agricultural
activities of two specific months. Some of the labors or festivals
depicted in the Bruegel paintings can be found associated with as
many as three months in other paintings and prints.50J Therefore,
I prefer to call them Seasons rather than Months essentially the same
position as that of Van Ossen (1951) and Klaus Demus (1981). I have
studied the Labors of the Months depicted in Books of Hours and
breviaries made by the workshop of Simon Bening and illumi-
nators of manuscripts like Gerard Horenbout and Hortulus Animae
who were active in the sixteenth century as well as the iconography
of Months prints by Virgil Solis, Etienne Delaunne, the Rue
Montorgueil workshop, Hans Bol, and others. I was able to establish
that a number of traditional images from the Labors of the Months
are depicted in the five existing paintings by Bmegel, but also
found that the correspondence of labors and months is not always
consistent.
Paul Bril, for example, made a set of six prints of the Labors of
the Months, each representing two months, which serves as a useful
reference for comparison. In Bril’s March and April (fig. 9), for ex-
ample, the pruning of trees and tying of grape vines to stakes is shown
on the left and labeled March while the gardening is shown on the
right and labeled April. The agricultural tasks belonging to each
48