This article was originally a thread on social media, which is why it is formatted with lots of images and short responses.
The text is about the image below that paragraph.
Shall we take another look at a typical low countries winter painting?
Today we’re checking out ‘The Census at Bethlehem’ by the amazing Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
More about the painting here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Census_at_Bethlehem See it in INSANE detail here; https://g.co/arts/QFV7t2M7RWtBRz6C8
The painting is totally historically inaccurate, this is nothing like Bethlehem in the year 0 😉
If this was a film, I’d be very critical of the set & costume designer!
But of course back then they often set bible stories in the present, to make it more relatable, so I don’t think this was supposed to be a historical drama…
Let’s go straight to the main attraction; Joseph and the pregnant Virgin Mary on a donkey, the artist didn’t position them in the centre of the painting even thought they are the most important part of the story;
We can’t see Jozef his face, maybe Bruegel was scared, it was the era of the Great Iconoclasm after all.
Jozef points to the inn where the census is taking place and appears to be carrying some tools of his trade, that scary jagged sword is more likely a saw and the thing in his belt is a hand-drill;
I love these barrel carts SO much. Not just used for transporting liquid as you can see.
yes our ancestors recycled too!
I can’t help but imagine having one and tuning it into a little home on wheels, unfortunately these days a barrel that big often costs more than a regular caravan;
These little three-leg chairs were very popular back then and as we can see elsewhere on the painting, they were great for kids to play with:
A pig is being slaughtered, outside.
As the throat is cut a woman holds a pan nearby to catch some of the blood. Nothing will be wasted.
Brutal but in some ways perhaps less so than it’s done today in some slaughter houses.
Not as hygienic though;
Children were always near when an animal was butchered, not (just) out of curiosity but it was their chance to get the animal’s intestines, stomachs, or bladders that they could then turn into balloons like this kid is doing;
“Move along Dave.”
“But I wanna balloon like that kid”
“No Dave.”
“But I WANNA WANNA WANNA”
Some scenes are timeless:
The Dutch/Flemish are paying their taxes, look at all the details, wonderful clothing, colours everywhere, thick cloaks or perhaps even blankets to keep war.
Back then all that money went to the Spanish who ruled the region at the time.
The Habsburg family shield reminds us of that:
We know this is an Inn because of the wreath and the jug hanging outside the building. It sure looks cosy inside, I so wish we could go in. I think we see some improvised repairs in the window above the door, glass was expensive.
This is the kind of detail you don’t make up, I am pretty sire this is something the artist painted from memory, something he had seen somewhere:
I love this tender looking scene, it just seems like a kid telling dad something exciting;
Taking off his mittens to put on his skates.
As a Dutch person my hands went into memory mode when I saw this, my poor fingers started thinking back to all the times they were in the exact same situation.
I can almost feel it;
This couple intrigues me. Is that a man holding a baby and a woman holding the sword?
Two kids on a sled made of horse’s (I think) jaws… and those eyes…
Two other kids are playing with spinning tops. What a great idea to do that on the ice, why did I never think of that when I was their age?
These people are very poor. House made of wattle and daub, using an old basket as a chimney and still working in their tiny vegetable patch.
Is that a bird bath out front?
Looks like mum is sweeping the ice so the kids can slide on it. Another adorable scene.
For some reason there are still folks out there who just assume that our ancestors didn’t love their kids the way we do, that they didn’t give them toys, attention and put time and effort into making their little ones happy.
But they did.
People having fun, being nice to each other, parents playing with their kids, all normal day to day stuff that for some reason people don’t always connect with that era.
Those eyes though…
Snowball fight! Men and women, chaos, some are stocking up on ammo it seems.
One woman is clearly giving a man a good snow wash, he’s in trouble.
Just a little scene but it tells us something about the attitudes of the time, place and artist;
EXCUSE ME WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!! Tssk tssk tssk, there’s always one;
Wherever there’s a fire, people gather, talk a bit, warm their hands, have a drink.
I like this. Winter in the 16th century was pretty awful in many ways, but I can imagine myself walking home and stopping at every fire, having a little chat;
How cosy is this? A tiny little sitting place inside a tree! Those men holding their pikes are a bit scary though, is something afoot?
Imagine having to build a house in the middle of the winter.
Someone must have a really good reason for this, or maybe it’s just symbolic?
Luckily there’s a chap bringing a jug with what I hope is a nice warm drink;
This is scary. Little child, ignored by everybody, about to run onto the ice after some birds;
Fantastic old ruin, perhaps symbolic? Showing us the end of the feudal era?
As always, in most of these paintings, while some have fun and play, there are always those who just have to keep working. Those baskets look heavy;
That looks like a little outhouse, above the canal.
No need for having your cesspit regularly emptied, the wat will carry your waste away.
Of course you’re going to have a problem with the river freezes…
Sunset;
Of course, there’s always someone falling 😉
More jugs hanging on a wall, these are so called sparrow pots, a place for birds to build a nest, not to be nice but to one day eat the eggs and perhaps the birds as well;
If you enjoyed my review of this painting and would like to read more, check out this list of reviews & threads I’ve written about art, films, tv, books, etc.:
Fake History Hunter 