Paintings of peasant life (1567-68)

The paintings illustrating peasant life, executed in 1567-68, are the most outstanding examples of Bruegel's late style, which is characterized by his use of monumental Italianate figures. It was paintings of this type which caused Bruegel to be known as Peasant Bruegel. In fact, we now know that he was a leading member of a highly sophisticated humanist circle in Antwerp. With our increasing knowledge of the symbolism contained in much sixteenth-century northern painting, it seems likely that, in addition to the obvious celebration of peasant life, the pictures have a moral dimension, too.