Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Netherlandish Proverbs and Sixteenth-Century Dutch Semiotics
Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Masters Research Paper
Degree Name
M.A.
Organizational Unit
School of Art and Art History, College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
First Advisor
Scott B. Montgomery
Keywords
Pieter Bruegel c.1525-1569, Netherlandish Proverbs, Painting, Dutch, Netherlands, Semiotics and art
Abstract
"In 1559, Pieter Bruegel the Elder‘s depiction of {7f2015}Netherlandish Proverbs‖ illustrated his profound understanding of the Dutch love for proverbs, their contemporary values, and appreciation for moral lessons in art forms. Depicting gestures and poses that represented proverbial phrases enabled Bruegel‘s leap from didactic labels employed by other artists to his inscription-free success of {7f2015}Netherlandish Proverbs.‖ My examination reveals that Bruegel‘s employment of gestural imagery, indicating rhetorical phrases or proverbs, was reinforced by a history of scholarly curatorship for written proverb collections, humanist interest in proverbs, and use of Dutch vernacular to bolster protonational pride"
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.
Recommended Citation
Ceravolo, Rebeka, "Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Netherlandish Proverbs and Sixteenth-Century Dutch Semiotics" (2010). Art and Art History: Master's Research Papers. 290.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/art_mrp/290