BRUEGEL AND THE TWO FACES OF SUMMER
Haymaking and the Harvesters
By Philip McCouat For readers' comments on this article, see here
A rich commission
In 1565, a 40-year-old Pieter Bruegel received a commission which was the most lucrative he had ever received. The prominent Antwerp merchant and art patron, Niclaes Jonghelinck, asked Bruegel to do six large paintings to decorate the walls of the dining hall of his country residence, forming a series depicting different times in the year [1].
Bruegel, at this time, was at the height of his powers, and he completed the entire series, now known as “The Seasons” [2] within a year. He must have worked very quickly -- the paintings were oils, with long drying times, so he may well have had a number of canvases in progress at any one time [3].
The impression that Jonghelinck’s guests had on entering the dining hall, with the Seasons series spread around the walls, must have been overwhelming: a virtual three-dimensional world landscape of unsurpassed size in a harmony of finely coordinated vivid colours [4].
The series included the famous Hunters in the Snow, representing the season of winter [5] and, at the other end of the seasonal spectrum, two masterful paintings representing early summer (Haymaking) and late summer (The Harvesters). It is these two paintings, so closely related, which form the subject of this article.
Bruegel, at this time, was at the height of his powers, and he completed the entire series, now known as “The Seasons” [2] within a year. He must have worked very quickly -- the paintings were oils, with long drying times, so he may well have had a number of canvases in progress at any one time [3].
The impression that Jonghelinck’s guests had on entering the dining hall, with the Seasons series spread around the walls, must have been overwhelming: a virtual three-dimensional world landscape of unsurpassed size in a harmony of finely coordinated vivid colours [4].
The series included the famous Hunters in the Snow, representing the season of winter [5] and, at the other end of the seasonal spectrum, two masterful paintings representing early summer (Haymaking) and late summer (The Harvesters). It is these two paintings, so closely related, which form the subject of this article.
What’s happening in ‘Haymaking’
The European hay harvest, which took place in early summer, coinciding with the summer solstice, involved the gathering of hay which would be used to feed animals over winter.
In Bruegel's painting, starting from lower left, we see a man sitting next to some fencing, sharpening his scythe. He is sitting alongside an earthen track which leads down to the lower level of the fields. A group of three straw-hatted women of varying ages are striding along the track, carrying rakes. One, the youngest, turns her head and gazes, bright-eyed, directly at us.
In Bruegel's painting, starting from lower left, we see a man sitting next to some fencing, sharpening his scythe. He is sitting alongside an earthen track which leads down to the lower level of the fields. A group of three straw-hatted women of varying ages are striding along the track, carrying rakes. One, the youngest, turns her head and gazes, bright-eyed, directly at us.
Another group of four, seen from behind, are walking away from us down the hill. On their heads, they are carrying large baskets full of cherries and spring vegetables. These so envelop their heads that the carriers almost look like walking vegetables themselves [6]. To the left of them is a post topped by a small shrine with a statuette of the Virgin. On the right is a woman riding side-saddle on a white horse in harness, pulling a sledge with two large baskets, also laden with produce. A tree stands at far right, its branches and foliage framing the scene as they spread across a large part of the upper edge of the painting.
Down at the level of the pale-coloured fields, people are engaged in a variety of activities. Women are raking the mown grass into small hillocks, while men pitchfork it onto a horse-drawn cart. In the distance, a village is nestled in the lee of a huge rocky crag, and on the village green, a group are shooting arrows at a target on the top of a pole. Beyond this, the countryside spreads far off into the blue distance, with hills, a town and a wide river snaking to the horizon, under a hazy sky which darkens to blue.
Down at the level of the pale-coloured fields, people are engaged in a variety of activities. Women are raking the mown grass into small hillocks, while men pitchfork it onto a horse-drawn cart. In the distance, a village is nestled in the lee of a huge rocky crag, and on the village green, a group are shooting arrows at a target on the top of a pole. Beyond this, the countryside spreads far off into the blue distance, with hills, a town and a wide river snaking to the horizon, under a hazy sky which darkens to blue.
What’s happening in ‘The Harvesters’
Important as the hay harvest was, it was overshadowed by the later wheat harvest. As bread formed a basic food for everyday people, the wheat harvest played a crucial role in their lives and was the main and busiest event of the farming calendar [7].
This harvest took place at the end of summer, usually round August, and required a large amount of labour. There would be long days of intensive physical work in the hot sun and often extra farmhands would have to be hired. This arduous nature of the labour was even referred to by Shakespeare, in his reference to reapers as “sunburnt sickle-men, of August weary” [8].
Once achieved, a successful harvest was typically the source of celebration or festivities, as the stakes were high – crop failures did occur, due to bad weather or other factors, and the consequence in some cases could be famine.
In this painting, Bruegel achieves the difficult feat of depicting all the various stages of the harvest. In the foreground, at left, a man is reaping the grain with a scythe, another is raking. On the right, the cut grain has been spread in bundles on the ground to dry, “lying stiff in their ranks like battle-tallied dead” [9], and a woman and a boy are tying it up into sheaves, and fashioning them into standing pyramids.
In the mid-distance, three women, two of them with the sheaves balanced on their heads, walk away down a narrow passage through the wheat, accompanied by two small dark birds. They are heading towards the loaded oxen-drawn wagon on the green embankment beyond the pond, which will transport the sheaves to the mill.
This harvest took place at the end of summer, usually round August, and required a large amount of labour. There would be long days of intensive physical work in the hot sun and often extra farmhands would have to be hired. This arduous nature of the labour was even referred to by Shakespeare, in his reference to reapers as “sunburnt sickle-men, of August weary” [8].
Once achieved, a successful harvest was typically the source of celebration or festivities, as the stakes were high – crop failures did occur, due to bad weather or other factors, and the consequence in some cases could be famine.
In this painting, Bruegel achieves the difficult feat of depicting all the various stages of the harvest. In the foreground, at left, a man is reaping the grain with a scythe, another is raking. On the right, the cut grain has been spread in bundles on the ground to dry, “lying stiff in their ranks like battle-tallied dead” [9], and a woman and a boy are tying it up into sheaves, and fashioning them into standing pyramids.
In the mid-distance, three women, two of them with the sheaves balanced on their heads, walk away down a narrow passage through the wheat, accompanied by two small dark birds. They are heading towards the loaded oxen-drawn wagon on the green embankment beyond the pond, which will transport the sheaves to the mill.
At bottom right, some of the workers are resting in the shade of the large pear tree, which reaches the full height of the painting. As in Haymaking, the foliage of this tree spreads extensively, more than halfway along the upper edge of the painting. The workers, including a younger boy, sit having their lunch on newly-cut sheaves lying on the ground. Their meal is simple. Loaves of bread in a basket are being cut by the person in grey, milky porridge is drunk direct from bowls, and pears from the tree are clustered on the white tablecloth. More jugs of drink for the workers are being carried, rather laboriously, by a young man emerging from the passage through the wheat.
One of the workers sprawls exhausted, his legs spread wide, his codpiece partly unlaced for ventilation, and his head resting against the base of the tree, cushioned by his rolled-up jerkin. He’s probably snoring, with his eyes closed and his mouth open, exposing his broken teeth. A similarly-posed sleeper later appears in Bruegel’s The Land of Cockaigne (1567).
On the far side, somewhat obscured, a young man has climbed an apple tree using a ladder, which lies on the ground, and has shaken down the red fruit, which is being collected from the ground by two women [10]. Beyond them is a church.
One of the workers sprawls exhausted, his legs spread wide, his codpiece partly unlaced for ventilation, and his head resting against the base of the tree, cushioned by his rolled-up jerkin. He’s probably snoring, with his eyes closed and his mouth open, exposing his broken teeth. A similarly-posed sleeper later appears in Bruegel’s The Land of Cockaigne (1567).
On the far side, somewhat obscured, a young man has climbed an apple tree using a ladder, which lies on the ground, and has shaken down the red fruit, which is being collected from the ground by two women [10]. Beyond them is a church.
Off in the distance, beyond the expanse of wheat, some people have attempted to escape the summer heat by stripping off their clothes and bathing in the small square-shaped pond, or sitting on its banks (Fig 6). With a fair amount of guesswork involved, these have been variously identified as either women or monks (though presumably not as both!) [11]. Further to their right, on the little green sward in front of the village cottages, others are playing a game involving throwing sticks. Far off in the distance, land and sea merge in the heat haze.
The timeless character of traditional rural activities such as harvesting is well illustrated by comparing Bruegel’s depiction here with a painting made some 250 years later – Constable’s Wheat Field (Fig 7). Here you’ll see a similar wide range of activities, a similar horizontal format, a similar elevated viewpoint, similar feelings of warmth, and the similar bands of colour (yellow/browns, greens and grey/blues).
Influences and similarities
n his paintings, Bruegel was of course influenced by his predecessors. So, for example, the general concept of a series of paintings devoted to the changing seasons was not new. It had long been a common feature of the so-called Books of Hours, devotional texts with miniature illustrations, which had been extremely popular among the aristocracy. As it happened, Bruegel had himself trained as a miniaturist [12] and would no doubt have been familiar with such books [13]. But he introduced many innovations to the genre. Not only did he divorce the paintings from a religious context, but he also massively increased their size, presented a wider variety of tasks being portrayed in each work, and created a greater sense of realism, without idealisation, often even injecting a note of humour.
The specific concept of presenting a number of tiny vignettes of life within the one work would also have been familiar to Bruegel from the earlier, rather surreal paintings by Hieronymus Bosch (Fig 8).
The specific concept of presenting a number of tiny vignettes of life within the one work would also have been familiar to Bruegel from the earlier, rather surreal paintings by Hieronymus Bosch (Fig 8).
For the general concept of vast landscapes, Bruegel would no doubt have been influenced by the works of Flemish artist Joaquim Patinir (Fig 9). That painter also had a significant influence over how such paintings should be structured. You’ll see that both Haymaking and Harvesters share a horizontal format, an elevated viewpoint from a raised foreground, a combination of a yellow foreground, a horizonal strip of green in the distance and a strip of blue for the sky and far distant mountains or sea. These characteristics are common in Patinir’s works, though Bruegel does not adopt Patinir’s biblical themes.
Both Haymaking and Harvesters are impressively accurate in their depiction of the respective seasons’ activities, and Bruegel clearly had the benefit of a direct and detailed familiarity with those activities in real life. However, the dramatic backgrounds to the activities are largely imaginary, perhaps based on parts of landscapes that Bruegel had seen on his travels, with physical features that would not exist in the lowlands of his native Flanders.
Conclusion
The Seasons is generally regarded as the highpoint of Bruegel’s lifework, and represents a milestone in the development of European landscape painting [14]. In both Haymaking and Harvesters, Bruegel demonstrates his ability to adapt and synthesise previous influences and create a distinctive genre of his own.
The paintings reflect respect for the hard work of the peasants, the dignity of their labour and the central role of nature in their lives and livelihoods. There is no suggestion of the element of mockery which some have claimed to detect in some of his earlier works.
Bruegel would live for only four years after completing the Seasons, dying at the early age of 44. We can only wonder what else he may have created had he lived longer.
© Philip McCouat 2024
This article may be cited as “Bruegel and the Two Faces of Summer”, Journal of Art in Society https://www.artinsociety.com/bruegel-and-the-two-faces-of-summer.html
We welcome your comments on this article: see here
The paintings reflect respect for the hard work of the peasants, the dignity of their labour and the central role of nature in their lives and livelihoods. There is no suggestion of the element of mockery which some have claimed to detect in some of his earlier works.
Bruegel would live for only four years after completing the Seasons, dying at the early age of 44. We can only wonder what else he may have created had he lived longer.
© Philip McCouat 2024
This article may be cited as “Bruegel and the Two Faces of Summer”, Journal of Art in Society https://www.artinsociety.com/bruegel-and-the-two-faces-of-summer.html
We welcome your comments on this article: see here
End Notes
[1] Only five of these paintings survive. The missing painting is for April/May. The possibility that this painting might yet re-appear forms the subject of Michael Frayn’s excellent novel Headlong (1999)
[2] Also referred to as “The Months”. Bruegel did not himself give names for either the series or the individual paintings
[3] Timothy Foote, The World of Bruegel, Time-Life Library of Art, Nederland 1971, at 166
[4] Elke Oberthaler et al, Bruegel, the Master, Thames & Hudson, at 215
[5] For an analysis of that painting, see https://www.artinsociety.com/the-emergence-of-the-winter-landscape.html
[6] Larry Silver, Pieter Bruegel, Abbeville Press, NY, 2011, at 327
[7] Linda Vardi, “Imaging the Harvest in Early Modern Europe”, The American Historical Review, Vol 1, No 5 (Dec 1996) 1357
[8] William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1611), Act 4, Scene 1, cited in Vardi, op cit, at 1370
[9] Richard Foerster, “Bruegel’s Harvesters” (poem)
[10] Annie Montgomery Labatt, Art History 101… without the exams, Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2022 at 289ff
[11] Oberthaler, op cit, at 227
[12] Paul Strathern, The Other Renaissance, Atlantic Books, London 2023 at 186, cited in Oberthaler, op cit at 228
[13] Till-Holger Borchert, “Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Flemish Book Illumination”, in Bruegel: The Hand of the Master, Essays in Context (e-book) 2020 at 96
[14] Oberthaler, op cit, at 214.
© Philip McCouat 2024
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[2] Also referred to as “The Months”. Bruegel did not himself give names for either the series or the individual paintings
[3] Timothy Foote, The World of Bruegel, Time-Life Library of Art, Nederland 1971, at 166
[4] Elke Oberthaler et al, Bruegel, the Master, Thames & Hudson, at 215
[5] For an analysis of that painting, see https://www.artinsociety.com/the-emergence-of-the-winter-landscape.html
[6] Larry Silver, Pieter Bruegel, Abbeville Press, NY, 2011, at 327
[7] Linda Vardi, “Imaging the Harvest in Early Modern Europe”, The American Historical Review, Vol 1, No 5 (Dec 1996) 1357
[8] William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1611), Act 4, Scene 1, cited in Vardi, op cit, at 1370
[9] Richard Foerster, “Bruegel’s Harvesters” (poem)
[10] Annie Montgomery Labatt, Art History 101… without the exams, Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2022 at 289ff
[11] Oberthaler, op cit, at 227
[12] Paul Strathern, The Other Renaissance, Atlantic Books, London 2023 at 186, cited in Oberthaler, op cit at 228
[13] Till-Holger Borchert, “Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Flemish Book Illumination”, in Bruegel: The Hand of the Master, Essays in Context (e-book) 2020 at 96
[14] Oberthaler, op cit, at 214.
© Philip McCouat 2024
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