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Hunters in the SnowHunters in the Snow © The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY

Hunters in the Snow

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565 C.E. Oil on wood.

Curator Note

"A masterpiece of Northern Renaissance landscape. Instead of a religious scene, Bruegel depicts the harsh reality of winter and the daily life of peasants. The hunters return tired and empty-handed, while below, people skate on frozen ponds. It finds beauty and dignity in the mundane rhythms of the seasons."

Form

  • Panel painting (series of 6, 5 survive).
  • Bird's-eye view perspective.
  • Diagonal lines lead the eye into the deep distance.
  • Cool color palette (whites, ice blues/greens).
  • Detailed narrative micro-scenes.

Function

  • Commissioned by a wealthy merchant (Niclaes Jonghelinck).
  • Decoration for a dining room (frieze of seasons).
  • To depict the labors of the months (January/February).
  • Humanist appreciation of nature and peasant life.
  • Secular art.

Content

  • Foreground: Three hunters with dogs, looking exhausted (fox hanging).
  • Middle ground: Inn with sign hanging precariously.
  • Background: Frozen river, skaters, town, jagged mountains (Alpine).
  • Theme: Man is powerless against nature.
  • No religious figures.

Context

  • Painted during the "Little Ice Age" (severe winters).
  • Netherlands under Spanish rule.
  • Bruegel traveled to the Alps (mountains in a flat country).
  • Genre painting (scenes of daily life) becoming popular.
  • Influence of Virgil’s Georgics.