Oldest Proverbs In Paintings

Painting on popular proverbs was one of the most interesting trends in the history of painting. These paintings remind us of some of our oldest proverbs. The famous painting ‘Netherlandish Proverbs’ (1599) by Pieter Bruegel, one of the greatest Netherlandish artists, is probably the best in this line. It includes some most popular proverbs of the Netherlands. Examples include “The sow removes the spigot”(to make a pig of oneself), “He butts his head against the wall”(to bang one’s head against a brick wall), “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”, “He opens the door with his bottom”(he doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going”), “He who spills his gruel can’t pick it all up”(it’s no use crying over split milk), “He kills two flies with one blow”(to kill two birds with one stone), “They pull for the long piece”(to draw straws/pull the wishbone), “He throws money into the water”(to throw money down the drain), “He cannot reach from one loaf to the other”(He cannot make ends), “He doesn’t care whose house is burning as long as he can warm himself from the coals”(I’m all right Jack), “To poke a stick into the wheel”(to put a spoke in the wheel”, “He speaks out of two mouths”(to be two- faced), “One holds the distaff while the other spins”(it takes two to gossip) and many more. The painting ‘Netherlandish Proverbs’ depicts over 120 proverbs and sayings. The abstract activities of the villagers in the painting reflect the topsy-turvy nature of the world. The proverbs fall into two groups- those which show the absurdity of human behaviour, and those which demonstrate sinfulness (such as the woman wrapping a blue clock around her husband, symbolizing her adultery). Pieter Bruegel modeled this painting on a contemporary painting ‘The Blue Clock” by Frans Hogenberg. But Bruegel changed the abstract village setting into a realistic one. Moreover he increased the number of proverbs in his new painting from 40 to more than 100.