The Peasant and the Nest Robber
1568 | Pieter Bruegel d. Ä.
The depiction is traditionally linked with the proverb of the bird’s nest: “Those who know the nest, know it; those who rob it, possess it”. Yet the actual meaning of the picture is insufficiently explained by the proverb. Will both figures fall? The nest robber from the tree, the peasant into the stream before him? Can or is there supposed to be a winner or a loser, a better or a worse one? Bruegel used few large figures in his late work. The influence of Michelangelo in particular is presumed to be here.
The depiction is traditionally linked with the proverb of the bird’s nest: “Those who know the nest, know it; those who rob it, possess it”. Yet the actual meaning of the picture is insufficiently explained by the proverb. Will both figures fall? The nest robber from the tree, the peasant into the stream before him? Can or is there supposed to be a winner or a loser, a better or a worse one? Bruegel used few large figures in his late work. The influence of Michelangelo in particular is presumed to be here.
Artist:
Pieter Bruegel d. Ä. (um 1525/30 Breugel oder Antwerpen? - 1569 Brüssel) DNB
Time:
1568
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Netherlandish
Material/technology:
oak wood
Dimensions:
rechts und unten beschnitten: Overall: 59,3 cm × 68,4 cm × 0,7 cm
Framed: 79 cm × 88 cm × 5 cm
Signed
Inscribed at lower left (in gold colour): BRVEGEL M.D.LXVIII
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 1020
Provenance
Collection Leopold Wilhelm