Four After Pieter Brueghel the Elder, by Barbara Krasner

The Peasant Wedding, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Flanders, now Belgium) 1568

Not Every Bride Wants to Be the Centre of Attention

You might think it’s always about the food, but there on the lower left, so many empty drinking vessels. While this is a portrait of a peasant wedding, Brueghel’s lens focuses on the chef and his delivery of wedding porridge on an unhinged door. Look closer. The drinking vessels get increasingly larger as you go down the banquet table to the left. The bride, already abandoned, sits alone in front of a green tapestry, eyes closed, hands folded, uncovered hair flowing over her shoulders. She prays for the night to be over.

Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Flanders, now Belgium) 1565

Snow and Ice Are the Only Constants

​Hunters trudge back to the village, frigid legs digging ever deeper into snow as dusk falls. A frozen-eyed fox dangles from a shoulder. Haggard dogs huddle to share despair. Down below, bundled skaters slide and glide on frozen ponds, a perpetual winter’s invitation. Shivering children fall on the ice, begging for food as others curl a stone. Couples hold hands.

Nothing stops in the village when held tight in a white blanket. One blackbird takes flight over the frozen mill wheel while the others remain chilled. ​

A moment in time
may air-snap like chimney flames
and freeze forever
​

Children’s Games, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Flanders, now Belgium) 1560

Remember Hidden Pictures
​
Admit it. You picked up Highlights for Children in the dentist’s office and tried your luck at finding objects hiding in plain sight. But the nurse always called you in before you finished. You could spend all day examining this painting and increase your mental acuity at the same time: For instance, how many people are here? (I gave up at 186.) Can you guess the children’s ages? I’m certain they range from toddler to teen. What games are the children playing: I’m no expert at sixteenth-century Flemish games, but I see leapfrog, stilts, acrobatics, piggyback, marbles, river bathing, blind man’s bluff, mock tournaments, and playing with toys and dolls—at the very least. Can you find all ninety games?

The Tower of Babel, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Flanders, now Belgium) 1563

They Build

They build. They build a tower to reach Heaven. They build and understand each other perfectly. They build one level after another easily, because they speak the same language. They build and congratulate themselves on their vision and their progress. They build until their vanity reaches new heights. A punishment comes crashing down. They no longer build. They no longer want to reach Heaven. They no longer understand a word each other says. Their words are babble.

​Barbara Krasner

​Barbara Krasner was first introduced to the work of the Brueghel family in her undergraduate German studies. She owed it to her German professor to experience the Pieter Brueghel the Elder collection at the Royal Museums of Fine Art in Brussels, fascinated as always by the activities depicted in these paintings. Her first ekphrastic collection, The Night Watch, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books. Visit her website atwww.barbarakrasner.com.