Netherlandish Proverbs

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Netherlandish Proverbs
Pieter Brueghel the Elder - The Dutch Proverbs - Google Art Project.jpg
Artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year1559
MediumOil-on-panel
Dimensions117 cm× 163 cm(46 in× 64 in)
Location Gemäldegalerie , Berlin

Netherlandish Proverbs (Dutch : Nederlandse Spreekwoorden; also called Flemish Proverbs, The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder that depicts a scene in which humans and, to a lesser extent, animals and objects, offer literal illustrations of Dutch-language proverbs and idioms.

Contents

Running themes in Bruegel's paintings that appear in Netherlandish Proverbs are the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of humans. Its original title, The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World, indicates that Bruegel's intent was not just to illustrate proverbs, but rather to catalogue human folly. Many of the people depicted show the characteristic blank features that Bruegel used to portray fools. [1]

His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, specialised in making copies of his father's work and painted at least 16 copies of Netherlandish Proverbs. [2] Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs and they also differ in other minor details. The original work by Bruegel the Elder is in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, [3] with the copies in numerous other collections (see below).

History

Context

Proverbs were very popular in Bruegel's time and before; a hundred years before Bruegel's painting, illustrations of proverbs had been popular in the Flemish books of hours. [4] A number of collections were published, including Adagia , by the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus. [5] The French writer François Rabelais employed significant numbers in his novel Gargantua and Pantagruel , completed in 1564. [6]

The Flemish artist Frans Hogenberg made an engraving illustrating 43 proverbs in around 1558, roughly the same time as Bruegel's painting. [7] [8] The work is very similar in composition to Bruegel's and includes certain proverbs (like the Blue Cloak) which also feature prominently in Netherlandish Proverbs. [8] By depicting literal renditions of proverbs in a peasant setting, both artists have shown a "world turned upside down". [8]

Bruegel himself had produced several works, mostly prints and drawings, on the subject of proverbs including Big Fish Eat Little Fish (1556) and Twelve Proverbs (1558), but Netherlandish Proverbs is thought to have been his first large-scale painting on the theme.

The painting

The painting, dated 1559, is considered the best of a series of similar paintings which at one time or other have all previously been attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, has been x-rayed for its underdrawing to compare it to other versions. None of the versions have a provenance going back further than the late 19th century, but Bruegel scholars believe that the paintings are the elder Bruegel's inventions, which all make use of a life-size cartoon with the same underdrawing as that used in the Berlin version. [9] The paintings, which are not inscribed, tease the viewer into guessing proverbs. They are based on 1558 and earlier engravings that are inscribed, in Flemish. The most notable of these regarding the paintings is by Frans Hogenberg, and it is dated 1558 and accompanied by the title Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt, maer des weerelts abvisen he beter betaempt (English: Often called 'The Blue Cloak', this could better be called 'The World's Follies'). The Doetecum brothers produced a print series in 1577 called De Blauwe Huyck. Theodoor Galle also made a print, dated later, with a similar title: Dese wtbeeldinghe wort die blauw hvyck genaemt, maer deze werelts abvysen haer beter betaemt. [10]

Proverbs and idioms

Critics have praised the composition for its ordered portrayal and integrated scene. [8] There are approximately 126 identifiable proverbs and idioms in the scene, although Bruegel may have included others which cannot be determined because of the language change. Some of those incorporated in the painting are still in popular use, for instance "Swimming against the tide", "Banging one's head against a brick wall" and "Armed to the teeth". Many more have faded from use, which makes analysis of the painting harder. "Having one's roof tiled with tarts", for example, which meant to have an abundance of everything and was an image Bruegel would later feature in his painting of the idyllic Land of Cockaigne (1567).

The Blue Cloak, the piece's original title, features in the centre of the piece and is being placed on a man by his wife, indicating that she is cuckolding him. Other proverbs indicate human foolishness. A man fills in a pond after his calf has died. Just above the central figure of the blue-cloaked man, another man carries daylight in a basket. Some of the figures seem to represent more than one figure of speech (whether this was Bruegel's intention or not is unknown), such as the man shearing a sheep in the centre bottom left of the picture. He is sitting next to a man shearing a pig, so represents the expression "One shears sheep and one shears pigs", meaning that one has the advantage over the other, but may also represent the advice "Shear them but don't skin them", meaning make the most of available assets.

Expressions featured in the painting [11] [12]
Proverb/idiomMeaningAreaImage
001To be able to tie even the devil to a pillow (fr)(nl)Obstinacy overcomes everythingLower left NP-1.jpg
002To be a pillar-biter (fr)(nl)(it)(lmo)To be a religious hypocriteLower left NP-2.jpg
003Never believe someone who carries fire in one hand and water in the other (fr)(nl)To be two-faced and to stir up troubleLower left NP-3.jpg
004To bang one's head against a brick wall (fr)(nl)To waste one's time on an impossible taskLower left NP-6.jpg
005One foot shod, the other bare(fr)(nl)Balance is paramountLower left NP-68.jpg
006The sow pulls the bung (fr)(nl)Negligence will be rewarded with disasterLower left NP-4.jpg
007 To bell the cat (fr)(nl)To carry out a dangerous or impractical planLower left NP-5.jpg
008To be armed to the teeth (fr)(nl)(de)To be heavily armedLower left NP-5.jpg
009To put your armor on (fr)(nl)To be angryLower left NP-5.jpg
010One shears sheep, the other shears pigs (fr)(nl)One has all the advantages, the other noneLower left NP-7.jpg
011Shear them but do not skin them (fr)(nl)Do not press your advantage too farLower left NP-18.jpg
012The herring does not fry here (nl)It's not going according to planLower left NP-15.jpg
013To fry the whole herring for the sake of the roe (fr)(nl)To do too much to achieve a littleLower left NP-15.jpg
014To get the lid on the head (nl)To end up taking responsibilityLower left NP-16.jpg
015The herring hangs by its own gills (fr)(nl)You must accept responsibility for your own actionsLower left NP-17.jpg
016There is more to it than (just) a single herring (nl)There is more to it than meets the eyeLower left NP-17.jpg
017What can smoke do to iron? (fr)(nl)There is no point in trying to change the unchangeableLower left NP-92.jpg
018To find the dog in the pot (fr)(nl)To arrive too late for dinner and find all the food has been eatenLower left [note 1] NP-109.jpg
019To sit between two stools in the ashes (fr)(nl)(de)To be indecisiveLower left NP-11.jpg
020To be a hen feeler (fr)(nl)To be very miserly (feeling whether the hen is about to lay an egg before slaughtering it)Middle left NP-8.jpg
021The scissors hang out there (fr)(nl)They are liable to cheat you thereUpper left NP-10.jpg
022To always gnaw on a single bone (fr)(nl)To continually talk about the same subjectUpper left NP-9.jpg
023It depends on the fall of the cards (fr)(nl)It is up to chanceUpper left NP-13.jpg
024The world is turned upside down (fr)(nl)(de)Everything is the opposite of what it should beUpper left NP-14.jpg
025Leave at least one egg in the nest (fr)(nl)Always have something in reserveUpper left NP-12.jpg
026To crap on the world (fr)(nl)(de)To despise everythingUpper left NP-19.jpg
027To lead each other by the nose (fr)(nl)(de)To fool each otherUpper left NP-21.jpg
028 The die is cast (fr)(nl)(de)The decision is madeUpper left NP-90.jpg
029Fools get the best cards (fr)(nl)Luck can overcome intelligenceUpper left NP-20.jpg
030To look through one's fingers (fr)(nl)To turn a blind eyeUpper left NP-22.jpg
031There hangs the knife (fr)(nl)To issue a challengeUpper left NP-23.jpg
032There stand the wooden shoes (fr)(nl)To wait in vainUpper left NP-24.jpg
033To stick out the broom (fr)(nl)To have fun while the master is awayUpper left NP-25.jpg
034To marry under the broomstick (fr)(nl)To live together without marryingUpper left NP-26.jpg
035To have the roof tiled with tarts (fr)(nl)To be very wealthyUpper left NP-27.jpg
036To have a hole in one's roof (fr)(nl)(de)To be unintelligentUpper left NP-104.jpg
037An old roof needs a lot of patching up (fr)(nl)Old things need more maintenanceUpper left NP-105.jpg
038The roof has laths(fr)(nl)There could be eavesdroppers (The walls have ears)Middle left NP-103.jpg
039To have toothache behind the ears(fr)(nl)To be a malingererMiddle left NP-29.jpg
040To be pissing against the moon(fr)(nl)To waste one's time on a futile endeavourMiddle left NP-32.jpg
041Here hangs the pot(fr)(nl)It is the opposite of what it should beMiddle left NP-106.jpg
042To shoot a second bolt to find the first(fr)(nl)To repeat a foolish actionUpper left NP-28.jpg
043To shave the fool without lather(fr)(nl)To trick somebodyMiddle NP-30.jpg
044Two fools under one hood(fr)(nl)Stupidity loves companyMiddle NP-34.jpg
045It grows out of the window(fr)(nl)It cannot be concealedMiddle NP-33.jpg
046To play on the pillory(fr)(nl)To attract attention to one's shameful actsUpper middle NP-31.jpg
047When the gate is open the pigs will run into the corn(fr)(nl)Disaster ensues from carelessnessUpper middle NP-40.jpg
048When the corn decreases the pig increasesIf one person gains then another must loseUpper middle NP-40.jpg
049To run like one's backside is on fire(fr)(nl)To be in great distressUpper middle NP-94.jpg
050He who eats fire, craps sparksDo not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous ventureUpper middle NP-94.jpg
051To hang one's cloak according to the wind(fr)(nl)(de)To adapt one's viewpoint to the current opinionUpper middle NP-39.jpg
052To toss feathers in the wind (fr)(nl)To work fruitlesslyUpper middle NP-42.jpg
053To gaze at the stork(fr)(nl)To waste one's timeUpper middle NP-38.jpg
054To try to kill two flies with one stroke(fr)(nl)(de)To be efficient (equivalent to today's To kill two birds with one stone)Upper middle NP-43.jpg
055To fall from the ox onto the rear end of an ass(fr)(nl)To fall on hard timesUpper middle NP-35.jpg
056To kiss the ring of the door (fr)(nl)To be obsequiousUpper middle NP-37.jpg
057To wipe one's backside on the door (nl)To treat something lightlyUpper middle NP-36.jpg
058To go around shouldering a burden (fr)(nl)To imagine that things are worse than they areUpper middle NP-36.jpg
059One beggar pities the other standing in front of the door(nl)Being afraid for competitionUpper middle NP-91.jpg
060To fish behind the net (fr)(nl)To miss an opportunityMiddle NP-47.jpg
061Sharks eat smaller fish (fr)(nl)Anything people say will be put in perspective according to their level of importanceMiddle NP-48.jpg
062To be unable to see the sun shine on the water(fr)(nl)To be jealous of another's successMiddle NP-60.jpg
063It hangs like a privy over a ditch (fr)(nl)Something that is extremely obviousMiddle NP-112.jpg
064Anybody can see through an oak plank if there is a hole in it (fr)(nl)There is no point in stating the obviousMiddle NP-45.jpg
065They both crap through the same hole (fr)(nl)They are inseparable comradesMiddle NP-46.jpg
066To throw one's money into the water(fr)(nl)To waste one's moneyMiddle NP-61.jpg
067A wall with cracks will soon collapse(fr)(nl)Anything poorly managed will soon failMiddle right NP-93.jpg
068To not care whose house is on fire as long as one can warm oneself at the blaze(fr)(nl)To take every opportunity regardless of the consequences to othersMiddle right NP-44.jpg
069To drag the block(fr)(nl)To be deceived by a lover or to work at a pointless taskUpper right NP-50.jpg
070Fear makes the old woman trot(fr)(nl)An unexpected event can reveal unknown qualitiesUpper right NP-49.jpg
071Horse droppings are not figs (fr)(nl)Do not be fooled by appearancesUpper right NP-53.jpg
072If the blind lead the blind both will fall in the ditch(fr)(nl)There is no point in being guided by others who are equally ignorantUpper right NP-51.jpg
073The journey is not yet over when one can discern the church and steeple (fr)(nl)Do not give up until the task is fully completeUpper right NP-52.jpg
074Everything, however finely spun, finally comes to the sun(nl)Nothing can be hidden foreverUpper right NP-111.jpg
075To keep one's eye on the sail(fr)(nl)To stay alert, be waryUpper right NP-54.jpg
076To crap on the gallows(fr)(nl)To be undeterred by any penaltyUpper right NP-55.jpg
077Where the carcass is, there fly the crows(fr)(nl)If there's something to be gained, everyone hurries in frontUpper right NP-113.jpg
078It is easy to sail before the wind(fr)(nl)If conditions are favourable it is not difficult to achieve one's goalUpper right NP-54.jpg
079Who knows why geese go barefoot?(fr)(nl)There is a reason for everything, though it may not be obviousUpper right NP-56.jpg
080If I am not meant to be their keeper, I will let geese be geeseDo not interfere in matters that are not your concernUpper right NP-56.jpg
081To see bears dancing [note 2] (fr)(nl)To be starvingRight NP-57.jpg
082Wild bears prefer each other's company [note 2] (nl)Peers get along better with each other than with outsidersRight NP-57.jpg
083To throw one's cowl over the fence(fr)(nl)To discard something without knowing whether it will be required laterRight NP-66.jpg
084It is ill to swim against the current(fr)(nl)(de)It is difficult to oppose the general opinionRight NP-65.jpg
085The pitcher goes to the water until it finally breaks(fr)(nl)(de)Everything has its limitationsRight NP-95.jpg
086The broadest straps are cut from someone else's leather (fr)(nl)One is quick to another's money.Right NP-67.jpg
087To hold an eel by the tail(fr)(nl)To undertake a difficult task (Compare: "Catch a tiger by the tail")Right NP-62.jpg
088To fall through the basket(fr)(nl)To have your deception uncoveredRight NP-59.jpg
089To be suspended between heaven and earth(fr)(nl)(de)To be in an awkward situationRight NP-59.jpg
090To keep the hen's egg and let the goose's egg go(fr)(nl)To make a bad decisionRight NP-63.jpg
091To yawn against the oven(fr)(nl)To attempt more than one can manageLower right NP-64.jpg
092To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another(fr)(nl)To have difficulty living within budgetLower right NP-69.jpg
093A hoe without a handle(fr)(nl)Probably something useless [note 3] Lower right NP-96.jpg
094To look for the hatchet(fr)(nl)To try to find an excuseLower right NP-71.jpg
095Here he is with his lantern(fr)(nl)To finally have an opportunity to show a talentLower right NP-71.jpg
096A hatchet with a handle(fr)(nl)Probably signifies "the whole thing" [note 3] Lower right NP-97.jpg
097He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again(fr)(nl)Once something is done it cannot be undone (Compare: "Don't cry over spilt milk")Lower right NP-70.jpg
098To put a spoke through someone's wheel(fr)(nl)To put up an obstacle, to destroy someone's plansLower right NP-73.jpg
099Love is on the side where the money bag hangs(fr)(nl)Love can be boughtLower right NP-107.jpg
100To pull to get the longest end(fr)(nl)To attempt to get the advantageLower right NP-74.jpg
101To stand in one's own light(fr)(nl)To behave contrarily to one's own happiness or advantageLower right NP-72.jpg
102No one looks for others in the oven who has not been in there himself(fr)(nl)To imagine wickedness in others is a sign of wickedness in oneselfLower right NP-72.jpg
103To have the world spinning on one's thumb(fr)(nl)To have every advantage (Compare: "To have the world in the palm of your hand")Lower right NP-85.jpg
104To tie a flaxen beard to the face of Christ(fr)(nl)To hide deceit under a veneer of Christian pietyLower right NP-58.jpg
105To have to stoop to get on in the world(fr)(nl)To succeed one must be willing to make sacrificesLower right NP-84.jpg
106To cast roses before swine(fr)(nl)(de)To waste effort on the unworthyLower middle NP-79.jpg
107To fill the well after the calf has already drowned(fr)(nl)To take action only after a disaster (Compare: "Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted")Lower middle NP-75.jpg
108To be as gentle as a lamb(fr)(nl)(de)Someone who is exceptionally calm or gentleLower middle NP-101.jpg
109She puts the blue cloak on her husband (fr)(nl)She deceives himLower middle NP-76.jpg
110Watch out that a black dog does not come in between(fr)(nl)Mind that things don't go wrongLower middle NP-110.jpg
111One winds on the distaff what the other spins(fr)(nl)Both spread gossipLower middle NP-77.jpg
112To carry the day out in baskets(fr)(nl)(de)To waste one's time (Compare: "to carry coals to Newcastle" and "to sell sand in the desert") (de)Middle NP-78.jpg
113To hold a candle to the Devil(fr)(nl)(de)To flatter and make friends indiscriminately (de)Middle NP-80.jpg
114To confess to the Devil(fr)(nl)(de)To reveal secrets to one's enemy (de)Middle NP-81.jpg
115The pig is stabbed through the belly(fr)(nl)A foregone conclusion or what is done can not be undoneMiddle NP-83.jpg
116Two dogs over one bone seldom agree(fr)(nl)To argue over a single pointMiddle NP-82.jpg
117When two dogs fight out who gets the bone,the third one steals it(fr)(nl)To fight or argue guarantees loss.Middle NP-82.jpg
118To be a skimming ladle(fr)(nl)To be a parasite or spongerMiddle NP-102.jpg
119What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it?(fr)(nl)Beauty does not make up for substanceMiddle NP-99.jpg
120 The Fox and the Stork or The Fox and the Crane dine together(fr)(nl)If you trick someone they might get back at you [note 4] Middle NP-87.jpg
121To blow in the ear(fr)(nl)To spread gossipMiddle NP-114.jpg
122Chalk up a debt(fr)(nl)(de)To owe someone a favourMiddle NP-100.jpg
123The meat on the spit must be basted(fr)(nl)Certain things need constant attentionMiddle NP-116.jpg
124There is no turning the spit with him(fr)(nl)He is uncooperativeMiddle NP-115.jpg
125To sit on hot coals(fr)(nl)(de)To be impatientMiddle NP-88.jpg
126To catch fish without a net(fr)(nl)To profit from the work of othersMiddle NP-117.jpg

Inspiration for other paintings

T. E. Breitenbach's 1975 painting Proverbidioms was inspired by this Dutch painting to depict English proverbs and idioms.

A 2014 illustration from the Hong Kong magazine Passion Times illustrates dozens of Cantonese proverbs. [13] [14]

The painting is featured on the album cover of Fleet Foxes self-titled first full-length album (2008).

See also

Notes

  1. The lighting makes it almost impossible to make out the dog.
  2. 1 2 The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.
  3. 1 2 The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.
  4. This proverb derives from Aesop's Fables The Fox and the Crane .

Footnotes

  1. "Pieter Bruegel". APARENCES. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. Wisse, Jacob. "Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525/30–1569)". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  3. "Die niederländischen Sprichwörter". Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  4. Rudy, Kathryn M. (2007). "Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and the Borders of a Flemish Book of Hours". In Biemans, Jos; et al. (eds.). Manuscripten en miniaturen: Studies aangeboden aan Anne S. Korteweg bij haar afscheid van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Zutphen: Walburg. ISBN   9789057304712.
  5. Erasmus, Desiderius. Adagia (Leiden 1700 ed.). University of Leiden: Department of Dutch language and literature.
  6. O'Kane, Eleanor (1950). "The Proverb: Rabelais and Cervantes". Comparative Literature. 2 (4): 360–369. doi:10.2307/1768392. JSTOR   1768392.
  7. Lebeer, L. (1939–40). "De Blauwe Huyck". Gentsche Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis. 6: 161–229.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt / Maer des weerelts abuisen het beter betaempt". Prints. Nicolaas Teeuwisse. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  9. Breughel Enterprises, 2001-2002 exhibition on the work of Pieter Brueghel II's copies after his father's works, Historians of Netherlandish Art review
  10. C. C. Barfoot and Richard Todd, The Great Emporium: the Low Countries as a cultural crossroads in the Renaissance and the eighteenth century (1992), p. 128; Google Books.
  11. Hagen 2000, pp. 36–37.
  12. "Spreekwoorden". Middeleeuwen. Literatuurgeschiedenis.org. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  13. "熱血時報 - 大粵港諺語 - 阿塗 - 專欄部落". passiontimes.hk.
  14. "Cantonese Proverbs in One Picture". 廣府話小研究Cantonese Resources. 25 February 2014.

References

Further reading