Holland. 17th century The country is experiencing unprecedented prosperity. The so-called "Golden Age". At the end of the 16th century, several provinces of the country achieved independence from Spain.

Now the Protestant Netherlands have gone their own way. And Catholic Flanders (present-day Belgium) under the wing of Spain is its own.

In independent Holland, almost no one needed religious painting. The Protestant Church did not approve of luxury decoration. But this circumstance “played into the hands” of secular painting.

Love for this type of art awoke in literally every resident of the new country. The Dutch wanted to see their own lives in the paintings. And the artists willingly met them halfway.

Never before has the surrounding reality been depicted so much. Ordinary people, ordinary rooms and the most ordinary breakfast of a city dweller.

Realism flourished. Until the 20th century, it will be a worthy competitor to academicism with its nymphs and Greek goddesses.

These artists are called "small" Dutch. Why? The paintings were small in size, because they were created for small houses. Thus, almost all paintings by Jan Vermeer are no more than half a meter in height.

But I like the other version better. In the Netherlands in the 17th century, a great master, the “big” Dutchman, lived and worked. And everyone else was “small” in comparison with him.

We are talking, of course, about Rembrandt. Let's start with him.

1. Rembrandt (1606-1669)

Rembrandt. Self-portrait at the age of 63. 1669 National Gallery London

Rembrandt experienced a wide range of emotions during his life. That's why there's so much fun and bravado in his early work. And there are so many complex feelings - in the later ones.

Here he is young and carefree in the painting “The Prodigal Son in the Tavern.” On his knees is his beloved wife Saskia. He is a popular artist. Orders are pouring in.

Rembrandt. The Prodigal Son in a Tavern. 1635 Old Masters Gallery, Dresden

But all this will disappear in about 10 years. Saskia will die of consumption. Popularity will disappear like smoke. A large house with a unique collection will be taken away for debts.

But the same Rembrandt will appear who will remain for centuries. The bare feelings of the heroes. Their deepest thoughts.

2. Frans Hals (1583-1666)

Frans Hals. Self-portrait. 1650 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Frans Hals is one of the greatest portrait painters of all time. Therefore, I would also classify him as a “big” Dutchman.

In Holland at that time it was customary to order group portraits. This is how many similar works appeared depicting people working together: marksmen of one guild, doctors of one town, managers of a nursing home.

In this genre, Hals stands out the most. After all, most of these portraits looked like a deck of cards. People sit at the table with the same facial expression and just watch. It was different for Hals.

Look at his group portrait “Arrows of the Guild of St. George."

Frans Hals. Arrows of the Guild of St. George. 1627 Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands

Here you will not find a single repetition in pose or facial expression. At the same time, there is no chaos here. There are many characters, but no one seems superfluous. Thanks to the amazingly correct arrangement of figures.

And even in a single portrait, Hals was superior to many artists. His patterns are natural. People from high society in his paintings are devoid of contrived grandeur, and models from the lower classes do not look humiliated.

And his characters are also very emotional: they smile, laugh, and gesticulate. Like, for example, this “Gypsy” with a sly look.

Frans Hals. Gypsy. 1625-1630

Hals, like Rembrandt, ended his life in poverty. For the same reason. His realism ran counter to the tastes of his customers. Who wanted their appearance to be embellished. Hals did not accept outright flattery, and thereby signed his own sentence - “Oblivion.”

3. Gerard Terborch (1617-1681)

Gerard Terborch. Self-portrait. 1668 Royal Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

Terborch was a master of the everyday genre. Rich and not-so-rich burghers talk leisurely, ladies read letters, and a procuress watches the courtship. Two or three closely spaced figures.

It was this master who developed the canons of the everyday genre. Which would later be borrowed by Jan Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and many other “small” Dutchmen.

Gerard Terborch. A glass of lemonade. 1660s. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

"A Glass of Lemonade" is one of Terborch's famous works. It shows another advantage of the artist. Incredibly realistic image of the dress fabric.

Terborch also has unusual works. Which speaks to his desire to go beyond customer requirements.

His "The Grinder" shows the life of the poorest people in Holland. We are used to seeing cozy courtyards and clean rooms in the paintings of the “small” Dutch. But Terborch dared to show unsightly Holland.

Gerard Terborch. Grinder. 1653-1655 State Museums of Berlin

As you understand, such work was not in demand. And they are a rare occurrence even among Terborch.

4. Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)

Jan Vermeer. Artist's workshop. 1666-1667 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

It is not known for certain what Jan Vermeer looked like. It is only obvious that in the painting “The Artist’s Workshop” he depicted himself. The truth from the back.

It is therefore surprising that a new fact from the master’s life has recently become known. It is connected with his masterpiece “Delft Street”.

Jan Vermeer. Delft street. 1657 Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

It turned out that Vermeer spent his childhood on this street. The house pictured belonged to his aunt. She raised her five children there. Perhaps she is sitting on the doorstep sewing while her two children play on the sidewalk. Vermeer himself lived in the house opposite.

But more often he depicted the interior of these houses and their inhabitants. It would seem that the plots of the paintings are very simple. Here is a pretty lady, a wealthy city dweller, checking the operation of her scales.

Jan Vermeer. Woman with scales. 1662-1663 National Gallery of Art, Washington

Why did Vermeer stand out among thousands of other “small” Dutchmen?

He was an unsurpassed master of light. In the painting “Woman with Scales” the light softly envelops the heroine’s face, fabrics and walls. Giving the image an unknown spirituality.

And the compositions of Vermeer’s paintings are carefully verified. You won't find a single unnecessary detail. It is enough to remove one of them, the picture will “fall apart”, and the magic will go away.

All this was not easy for Vermeer. Such amazing quality required painstaking work. Only 2-3 paintings per year. As a result, the inability to feed the family. Vermeer also worked as an art dealer, selling works by other artists.

5. Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684)

Pieter de Hooch. Self-portrait. 1648-1649 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Hoch is often compared to Vermeer. They worked at the same time, there was even a period in the same city. And in one genre - everyday. In Hoch we also see one or two figures in cozy Dutch courtyards or rooms.

Open doors and windows make the space of his paintings layered and entertaining. And the figures fit into this space very harmoniously. As, for example, in his painting “Maid with a Girl in the Courtyard.”

Pieter de Hooch. A maid with a girl in the courtyard. 1658 London National Gallery

Until the 20th century, Hoch was highly valued. But few people noticed the small works of his competitor Vermeer.

But in the 20th century everything changed. Hoch's glory faded. However, it is difficult not to recognize his achievements in painting. Few people could so competently combine the environment and people.

Pieter de Hooch. Card players in a sunny room. 1658 Royal Art Collection, London

Please note that in a modest house on the canvas “Card Players” there is a painting hanging in an expensive frame.

This once again shows how popular painting was among ordinary Dutch people. Paintings decorated every home: the house of a rich burgher, a modest city dweller, and even a peasant.

6. Jan Steen (1626-1679)

Jan Steen. Self-portrait with a lute. 1670s Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

Jan Steen is perhaps the most cheerful “little” Dutchman. But loving moral teaching. He often depicted taverns or poor houses in which vice existed.

Its main characters are revelers and ladies of easy virtue. He wanted to entertain the viewer, but latently warn him against a vicious life.

Jan Steen. It's a mess. 1663 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Sten also has quieter works. Like, for example, “Morning Toilet.” But here too the artist surprises the viewer with too revealing details. There are traces of stocking elastic, and not an empty chamber pot. And somehow it’s not at all appropriate for the dog to be lying right on the pillow.

Jan Steen. Morning toilet. 1661-1665 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

But despite all the frivolity, Sten’s color schemes are very professional. In this he was superior to many “little Dutchmen”. Look how perfectly the red stocking goes with the blue jacket and bright beige rug.

7. Jacobs Van Ruisdael (1629-1682)

Portrait of Ruisdael. Lithograph from a 19th century book.

I decided to make a selection of Dutch people who, in my opinion, are famous all over the world...

So let's get started:

Oh yes, in first place of course - Vincent Van Gogh, not recognized during his lifetime, but loved by the modern world for its bright colors and imaginary simplicity. Today he is the most popular artist among thieves.

Rembrandt van Rijn- great Dutch painter and engraver. One of his most famous paintings is The Night Watch, the painting is reputed to be mysterious. Art critics and art lovers have been scratching their heads over this painting for centuries. Thus, one venerable Dutch art historian of the early 19th century spent years to prove that the detachment goes to parade on the occasion of the arrival of the French Queen Marie de Medici in Amsterdam in 1639. The most alluring among the mysteries of the “Watch” is the image of a strange girl in a golden outfit... Modern Dutch people love and revere this artist very much... Since the beginning of the 20th century, a policy has been pursued of returning the paintings of this artist back to their homeland.

Johannes Vermeer of Delft. He lived for a short time, wrote little, and was discovered late. Vermeer's most famous and "touring" work is "Girl with a Pearl Earring", owned by the Hague Museum. Most of Vermeer's paintings belong to museums and private collectors in the United States. There is not a single work by this Dutch artist in Russia.

Anne Frank– The diary of the Dutch girl Anne Frank is one of the most famous and impressive documents about Nazi atrocities. Anna kept a diary from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944. At first she wrote only for herself, until in the spring of 1944 she heard a speech on the radio by the Minister of Education of the Netherlands, Bolkenstein. He said that all the evidence of the Dutch during the occupation period should become public property. Impressed by these words, Anna decided after the war to publish a book based on her diary.

Paul Verhoeven- famous Dutch director. The creator of such films as: the fantastic action film "RoboCop" (1987), which grossed more than 50 million dollars at the box office, and the super action movie "Total Recall" (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. The greatest success was expected in the cult thriller Basic Instinct (1992), starring Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. The erotic drama Showgirls (1995), which Verhoeven filmed after this, completely failed at the box office. The director managed to partially “rehabilitate himself” by filming the science-fiction action movie “Starship Troopers” (1997). The science fiction thriller “The Invisible Man” (2000) was also partially successful, after the release of which Verhoeven took a six-year creative break.

Mata Hari- the main courtesan of world espionage. Margaretha Gertrude Zelle tied the knot with 38-year-old Rudolf McLeod. The couple, whose age difference was 20 years, met through an advertisement in a newspaper: the lonely officer McLeod wanted romantic communication with the opposite sex, and it was him who Margareta chose as the object of passion. However, some time after the marriage and moving to the island of Java, Margareta became disillusioned with her chosen one: a Dutchman of Scottish origin, McLeod, suffered from alcoholism, took out all his anger and unfulfillment in military affairs on his wife and two children, and also kept mistresses. The marriage was failing, and Margareta concentrated on studying Indonesian traditions, in particular local national dances. According to legend, it was in 1897 that she first began performing under the pseudonym Mata Hari, which in Malay means “sun” (“mata” - eye, “hari” - day, literally “eye of the day”). From this time on, the transformation into a spy begins...

Armin Van Buren– For all fans of electronic music, the name of the Dutchman Armin van Buuren is the name of a true legend. And this is not an exaggeration. It is truly difficult to overestimate the importance of this musician, DJ and simply exceptionally energetic personality for the entire trance industry.

Tiësto– Real name: Thijs Vervest. Tiesto is the number 2 DJ in the world (and often number 1 on DJMag's list). Tiësto broke the world record for drinking Red Bull in 24 hours, he managed to drink 31 cans - almost double the lethal dose, but he doesn't want to take it anymore.

Dirk Nicholas Lawyer– Dutch football player (midfielder) and football coach, former coach of the national teams of the Netherlands, UAE, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, as well as St. Petersburg Zenit, Rangers and other clubs. Having won the 2007 Russian Football Championship with Zenit, Advocaat became the first foreign coach to win this tournament. On May 28, 2008, Dick Advocaat was awarded the title of honorary citizen of St. Petersburg. Moreover, for this, the city parliament had to issue a special law for the coach personally, since the law of St. Petersburg “On the title of “Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg” did not allow Dick Advocaat to be awarded the title of honorary citizen “on a general basis.”

Benedict Spinoza- Dutch rationalist philosopher, naturalist, one of the main representatives of modern philosophy. He was born into a Jewish family, but the Jews excommunicated him. Christians hated him equally. Although the idea of ​​God dominates his entire philosophy, churchmen accused him of atheism. The years of Spinoza's life coincided with the beginning of the modern era. In his work, he carried out a synthesis of scientific ideas of the Renaissance with Greek, Stoic, Neoplatonic and scholastic philosophy.

Which famous Dutch people do you know? Share in the comments)

Fruit and fly

The artist Jan Van Huysum, a great artist and master of Dutch still life, lived at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries, and enjoyed enormous popularity among his contemporaries.

Very little is known about the life and work of Jan van Huysum. He was born into the family of the artist Justus van Huysum Sr., his three brothers were also artists. In 1704 Jan Van Huysum married Margaret Schouten.

Portrait of Jan van Huysum by Arnold Bonen, circa 1720

The artist very quickly became a famous artist and a recognized master of Dutch still life. Crowned heads decorated their chambers and state rooms with paintings by the master. Jan Van Huysum's works were not available to the rest of the public. The fact is that the master worked on each painting for a very long time. And his works were very expensive - tens of times more expensive than paintings by Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Albert Cuyp.
Each painting consists of dozens of layers of transparent paint and meticulously painted details: layer by layer and stroke by stroke. Thus, over the course of several years, this master’s still life was born.

Jan van Huysum's brushes include several quite interesting landscapes, but the artist's main theme is still lifes. Experts divide Jan Van Huysum's still lifes into two groups: still lifes on a light background and still lifes on a dark background. “Light still lifes” require more “mature” skill from the artist - experience and talent are needed for competent light modeling. However, these are already details.

Better look at these works. They are truly wonderful.

Paintings by artist Jan Van Huysum

Fruits, flowers and insects

Mallows and other flowers in a vase

Flowers and fruits

Vase with Flowers

Flowers and fruits

Vase with Flowers

Flowers and fruits

Flowers in a terracotta vase

Vase with flowers in a niche

Fruits and flowers

Basket with flowers and butterflies

Flemish painting is one of the classical schools in the history of fine arts. Anyone interested in classical drawing has heard this phrase, but what is behind such a noble name? Could you, without hesitation, identify several features of this style and name the main names? In order to more confidently navigate the halls of large museums and be a little less embarrassed by the distant 17th century, you need to know this school.

History of the Flemish School

The 17th century began with an internal split in the Netherlands due to religious and political struggles for the internal freedom of the state. This led to a split in the cultural sphere. The country splits into two parts, southern and northern, whose painting begins to develop in different directions. Southerners who remained in the Catholic faith under Spanish rule become representatives Flemish school, while northern artists are regarded by art critics as Dutch school.

Representatives of the Flemish school of painting continued the traditions of their older Italian colleagues-artists of the Renaissance: Raphael Santi, Michelangelo Buonarroti who paid great attention to religious and mythological themes. Moving along a familiar path, supplemented by inorganic, rough elements of realism, Dutch artists could not create outstanding works of art. The stagnation continued until he stood up at the easel Peter Paul Rubens(1577-1640). What was so amazing that this Dutchman could bring to art?

Famous master

Rubens' talent was able to breathe life into the painting of the southerners, which was not very remarkable before him. Closely familiar with the heritage of Italian masters, the artist continued the tradition of turning to religious themes. But, unlike his colleagues, Rubens was able to harmoniously weave into classical subjects the features of his own style, which tended towards rich colors and depictions of nature filled with life.

From the artist’s paintings, as if from an open window, sunlight seems to be pouring in (“The Last Judgment”, 1617). Unusual solutions for constructing a composition of classical episodes from the Holy Scriptures or pagan mythology attracted attention to the new talent among his contemporaries, and still do. Such innovation looked fresh in comparison with the gloomy, muted shades of the paintings of his Dutch contemporaries.

The models of the Flemish artist also became a characteristic feature. Plump, fair-haired ladies, painted with interest without inappropriate embellishment, often became the central heroines of Rubens' paintings. Examples can be found in the paintings “The Judgment of Paris” (1625), "Susanna and the Elders" (1608), "Venus in front of the mirror"(1615), etc.

In addition, Rubens provided influence on the formation of the landscape genre. He began to develop in the painting of Flemish artists to the main representative of the school, but it was the work of Rubens that set the main features of national landscape painting, reflecting the local color of the Netherlands.

Followers

Rubens, who quickly became famous, soon found himself surrounded by imitators and students. The master taught them to use the folk features of the area, color, and to glorify, perhaps, unusual human beauty. This attracted spectators and artists. Followers tried themselves in different genres - from portraits ( Gaspare De Caine, Abraham Janssens) to still lifes (Frans Snyders) and landscapes (Jan Wildens). Household painting of the Flemish school is executed in an original way Adrian Brouwer And David Teniers Jr.

One of Rubens' most successful and notable students was Anthony Van Dyck(1599 - 1641). His author's style developed gradually, at first completely subordinated to imitation of his mentor, but over time he became more careful with paints. The student had a penchant for gentle, muted shades in contrast to the teacher.

Van Dyck's paintings make it clear that he did not have a strong inclination to build complex compositions, volumetric spaces with heavy figures, which distinguished his teacher's paintings. The gallery of the artist’s works is filled with single or paired portraits, ceremonial or intimate, which speaks of the author’s genre priorities that are different from Rubens.

The Netherlands is a historical region occupying part of the vast lowlands on the northern European coast from the Gulf of Finland to the English Channel. Currently, this territory includes the states of the Netherlands (Holland), Belgium and Luxembourg.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Netherlands became a motley collection of large and small semi-independent states. The most significant among them were the Duchy of Brabant, the counties of Flanders and Holland, and the Bishopric of Utrecht. In the north of the country, the population was mainly German - Frisians and Dutch; in the south, the descendants of the Gauls and Romans - the Flemings and Walloons - predominated.
The Dutch worked selflessly with their special talent of “doing the most boring things without boredom,” as the French historian Hippolyte Taine put it about these people, completely devoted to everyday life. They did not know sublime poetry, but they revered the simplest things all the more reverently: a clean, comfortable home, a warm hearth, modest but tasty food. The Dutchman is accustomed to looking at the world as a huge house in which he is called upon to maintain order and comfort.

Main features of Dutch Renaissance art

The art of the 15th century is the golden age of Dutch painting.
Its brightest representative Jan Van Eyck. OK. 1400-1441.
The greatest master of European painting:
With his work he opened a new era of the Early Renaissance in Dutch art.
He was the court artist of the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good.
He was one of the first to master the plastic and expressive capabilities of oil painting, using thin transparent layers of paint placed one on top of the other (the so-called Flemish style of multi-layer transparent painting).

Van Eyck's largest work was the Ghent Altarpiece, which he executed together with his brother.
The Ghent Altarpiece is a grand multi-tiered polyptych. Its height in the central part is 3.5 m, width when opened is 5 m.
On the outside of the altar (when it is closed) is the daily cycle:
- in the bottom row the donors are depicted - townsman Jodok Veidt and his wife, praying in front of the statues of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, patrons of the church and chapel.
- above is the scene of the Annunciation, with the figures of the Mother of God and the Archangel Gabriel separated by the image of a window in which the city landscape emerges.

The festive cycle is depicted on the inside of the altar.
When the altar doors open, a truly stunning transformation takes place before the viewer’s eyes:
- the size of the polyptych is doubled,
- the picture of everyday life is instantly replaced by the spectacle of earthly paradise.
- the cramped and gloomy closets disappear, and the world seems to open up: the spacious landscape lights up with all the colors of the palette, bright and fresh.
The painting of the festive cycle is dedicated to the theme, rare in Christian fine art, of the triumph of the transformed world, which should come after the Last Judgment, when evil will be finally defeated and truth and harmony will be established on earth.

In the top row:
- in the central part of the altar, God the Father is depicted sitting on a throne,
- the Mother of God and John the Baptist are seated to the left and right of the throne,
- further on both sides there are singing and playing music angels,
- the naked figures of Adam and Eve close the row.
The bottom row of paintings depicts a scene of worship of the Divine Lamb.
- in the middle of the meadow rises an altar, on it stands a white Lamb, blood flows from his pierced chest into a chalice
- closer to the viewer there is a well from which living water flows.

Hieronymus Bosch (1450 - 1516)
The connection of his art with folk traditions and folklore.
In his works he intricately combined the features of medieval fiction, folklore, philosophical parables and satire.
He created multi-figure religious and allegorical compositions, paintings on the themes of folk proverbs, sayings and parables.
Bosch's works are filled with numerous scenes and episodes, vivid and bizarre-fantastic images and details, full of irony and allegory.

Bosch's work had a huge influence on the development of realistic trends in Dutch painting of the 16th century.
Composition “Temptation of St. Anthony" is one of the artist’s most famous and mysterious works. The master’s masterpiece was the triptych “The Garden of Delights,” an intricate allegory that has received many different interpretations. During the same period, the triptychs “The Last Judgment”, “Adoration of the Magi”, compositions “St. John on Patmos", "John the Baptist in the Wilderness".
The late period of Bosch’s work includes the triptych “Heaven and Hell”, the compositions “The Tramp”, “Carrying the Cross”.

Most of Bosch's paintings from his mature and late period are bizarre grotesques containing deep philosophical overtones.

The large triptych “Hay Wagon”, highly appreciated by Philip II of Spain, dates back to the artist’s mature period of creativity. The altar composition is probably based on an old Dutch proverb: “The world is a haystack, and everyone tries to grab as much as they can from it.”

Temptation of St. Antonia. Triptych. Central part Wood, oil. 131.5 x 119 cm (central part), 131.5 x 53 cm (leaf) National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon
Garden of Delights. Triptych. Around 1485. Central part
Wood, oil. 220 x 195 cm (central part), 220 x 97 cm (leaf) Prado Museum, Madrid

Dutch art of the 16th century. marked by the emergence of interest in antiquity and the activities of the masters of the Italian Renaissance. At the beginning of the century, a movement based on imitation of Italian models emerged, called “Romanism” (from Roma, the Latin name for Rome).
The pinnacle of Dutch painting in the second half of the century was creativity Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1525/30-1569. Nicknamed Muzhitsky.
He created a deeply national art based on Dutch traditions and local folklore.
Played a huge role in the formation of the peasant genre and the national landscape. In Bruegel's work, rough folk humor, lyricism and tragedy, realistic details and fantastic grotesque, interest in detailed storytelling and the desire for broad generalization are intricately intertwined.

In Bruegel's works there is a closeness to the moralizing performances of medieval folk theater.
The jester's duel between Maslenitsa and Lent is a common scene at fair performances held in the Netherlands during winter farewell days.
Everywhere life is in full swing: there is a round dance, here they wash windows, some play dice, others trade, someone begs for alms, someone is being taken to be buried...

Proverbs. 1559. The painting is a kind of encyclopedia of Dutch folklore.
Bruegel's characters lead each other by the nose, sit between two chairs, bang their heads against the wall, hang between heaven and earth... The Dutch proverb “And there are cracks in the roof” is close in meaning to the Russian “And the walls have ears.” The Dutch “throw money into the water” means the same as the Russian “waste money”, “throw money down the drain”. The whole picture is dedicated to the waste of money, energy, and entire life - here they cover the roof with pancakes, shoot arrows into the void, shear pigs, warm themselves with the flames of a burning house and confess to the devil.

The whole earth had one language and one dialect. Moving from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to each other: “Let’s make bricks and burn them with fire.” And they used bricks instead of stones, and earthen tar instead of lime. And they said: “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose height reaches to heaven, and make a name for ourselves before we are scattered over the face of the earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men were building. And the Lord said: “Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they began to do, and they will not give up on what they have planned to do. Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that one does not understand the speech of the other.” And the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth; and they stopped building the city and the tower. Therefore, the name was given to it: Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the whole earth (Genesis, chapter 11). In contrast to the colorful bustle of Bruegel's early works, this painting amazes the viewer with its calm. The tower depicted in the picture resembles the Roman amphitheater Colosseum, which the artist saw in Italy, and at the same time - an anthill. On all floors of the huge structure, tireless work is in full swing: blocks are rotating, ladders are thrown, figures of workers are scurrying about. It is noticeable that the connection between the builders has already been lost, probably due to the “mixing of languages” that has begun: somewhere construction is in full swing, and somewhere the tower has already turned into ruins.

After Jesus was handed over to be crucified, the soldiers put a heavy cross on Him and led Him to the place of execution called Golgotha. On the way, they captured Simon of Cyrene, who was returning home from the field, and forced him to bear the cross for Jesus. Many people followed Jesus, among them were women who wept and lamented for Him. “Carrying the Cross” is a religious, Christian picture, but it is no longer a church picture. Bruegel correlated the truths of Holy Scripture with personal experience, reflected on biblical texts, gave them his own interpretation, i.e. openly violated the imperial decree of 1550 in force at that time, which, on pain of death, prohibited independent study of the Bible.

Bruegel creates a series of landscapes “The Months”. “Hunters in the Snow” is December-January.
For a master, each season is, first of all, a unique state of the earth and sky.

A crowd of peasants, captivated by the rapid rhythm of the dance.