One of the great masters of the Renaissance and one of my favorite painters of all time is Peter Bruegel the Elder, a Flemish artist who lived in the 16th century. He was often called "Peasant Bruegel" because of his honest, epic portraits of peasant life (this was uncommon during the Rennaissance when, unlike the rampant sophistication in today's culture, the patrons mostly wanted to see beautiful celebrities or naked people...)
One of the popular themes in large scale paintings of this time was the Massacre of the Innocents, the oft-overlooked Christmas story where Herod goes Wack-an-Infant on Bethlehem after the Wise Men spill the beans on Baby Jesus (it just never makes it into church pagaents... I guess nobody wants their kid to be on the Infanticide Patrol) Bruegel's take on this is subject is my favorite of all the Rennaissance masters because of the detachment in his handling. Bruegel was a master of pastoral painting, and he does a great job of showing us that no matter what the atrocity, the world at large remains unaffected by human affairs. While Bruegel was heavily influenced by Flemish peer Hieronymous Bosch, he infuses his work with much more subtlety and natural qualities.
1 comment:
There are far worse roles to play in a Christmas pageant than Infanticide Patrolman. Like a Shepard. Every single year of your entire childhood and never once being a Wiseman. Whatever.
Post a Comment