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ID number: BIRBI-44.11 Institution: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts Artist / Maker: Brueghel, Pieter the younger (1564-1637/38) Title / Object name: Two Peasants Binding Firewood Object type: Painting Place made: Antwerp Culture: Early Netherlandish Date made: c.1604-16 Materials: Oil on panel Measurements: 36.2 x 27.3 cm (unframed) 59.6 x 50.7 x 7 cm (framed) Provenance: Paris art market about 1933; purchased by F. A. Drey, Munich; purchased by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia about 1934; later re-purchased by Drey from the Prince; purchased by the Barber Institute in1944 for £6,800. |
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A woodland clearing during winter or early spring, perhaps February or March. Two men tie a bundle of firewood, while in the background a third man chops branches from a tree. Are these innocent, hardworking woodsmen, or thieving, opportunistic rogues? Their abandoned belongings and sideways glances indicate furtive behaviour. The thin man’s bandaged head probably relates to the Netherlandish proverb, ‘To have toothache behind the ears’, meaning to deceive or to be a malingerer. Another proverb, ‘When the tree is felled, everyone gathers the firewood’, referencing the greed of opportunists, may also be illustrated here. The way this work is painted is typical of Brueghel’s direct copies from his father. The Elder Bruegel’s prototype, however, if one did exist, is now lost. Notes: Exhibited: 'De Van Eyck a Bruegal', Paris, Orangerie, 1935 (no.17); 'Brueghel: Defining a Dynasty', The Holburne Museum, Bath, UK, 11 February 2017 - 4 June 2017 |
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1 Related People | |
| Brueghel, Pieter the younger Early Netherlandish 1564/5 1637/8 | |
5 Related Publications | |
| Pierre Brueghel Le Jeune Marlier, Georges 1969 | |
| Die Altniederlandische Malerei Friedlander, Max. J. 1937 | |
| Brueghel Brion, Marcel 1936 | |
| Pieter Brueghel der Maler; a seiner zeit Jedlicka, Gotthard 1938 | |
| Brueghel Son Fils Marlier, Georges 1968 | |
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