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The Holy Family in the Snow
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Christ in Limbo
c. 1562
It was not the belief in Jesus Christ that Bruegel was
criticizing in his pictures, but rather the Catholic Church.
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For centuries past, churches and monasteries had been
among the most important clients commissioning art. The
Reformation put an end to this tradition, the Protestants
considering the rich pictorial ornamentation of Catholic
buildings to be symptoms of secularization, or even of a
forbidden display of magnificence and power. Theological
objections were also raised, albeit not by Luther but by
Calvin. Maintaining that "every pictorial representation of
God contradicts His nature", he stated that "it is sinful to
give God visible form; to create graven images is to
completely break away from the true God."
Bruegel worked with others on an altar in his early years,
in 1550/51; we know this from documents, although the altar
itself is lost. As far as can be ascertained, not one of his
paintings was executed for a church. One reason for this may
be seen in the political and religious situation at the
time, Lutheran and Reformed Church communities being
uninterested in such works and Catholics holding back - in
those cases where they had actually been able to keep their
buildings. Another reason was Bruegel's style, which was
such as to exclude him from consideration by Catholics. The
strategy of the Counter-Reformation, as formulated at the
Council of Trent in 1545-63, required artists to portray
saints in a way which emphasized their sainthood and clearly
distinguished them from other mortals. Bruegel did the very
opposite.
This is even true of a work which at first appears to
correspond to Catholic requirements: The Adoration of the
Kings (1564). Mary is depicted sitting in the centre
of the picture, holding the Christ child on her lap. Her
face is as beautiful as that of a young girl, quite capable
of fulfilling the traditional Madonna ideal. One of her eyes
is hidden, however; her posture is bowed; and the Christ
child seems to be pulling back in fear. Furthermore, the
face of the left-hand king - one of the saints after all -
has very earthly features, while the brightly coloured robe
of the right-hand king renders its wearer more prominent
than Mary. The final straw - in the eyes of
Counter-Reformation severity -is the depiction of Joseph:
instead of giving himself over completely to the holy event,
he is leaning towards an unknown person so that the latter
may whisper something in his ear. One could reply that it is
precisely through this act of whispering that respect is
shown the Adoration. It is too human an act, however; it
distracts the observer, and would undoubtedly have fallen
victim to the religious censorship of art.
Bruegel painted the Adoration of the Christ child by the
Three Kings or Magi three times; none of the works reveals
the splendour and idealization considered appropriate in
Catholic circles. The earliest painting, The
Adoration of the Kings (between 1556 and 1562), which is
in a poor state of preservation, is characterized by a large
crowd of Netherlands and Middle Eastern people, the last,
The Adoration of the Kings in the Snow (1567), by
a natural event, namely by falling snow. This last version
is also the boldest, the religious scene almost
disappearing, integrated like some everyday occurrence into
the life of a wintertime village.
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The Adoration of the Kings
1564
Bruegel depicts the Adoration as it could have been staged
in a Passion play. It was admissible within the context of
such plays that someone whisper something in Joseph's earnot,
however, in the case of pictures, according to the
guidelines laid down by the Counter-Reformation.
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The Adoration of the Kings (detail)
1564
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The Adoration of the Kings
between 1556 and 1562
Unlike the other two depictions of the Adoration, this work
was painted
not on wood but on canvas, and is in poor condition. It is
the earliest of
the surviving Adorations. Bruegel has surrounded the central
event with a
large crowd of people, dressed partly in Netherlands dress,
partly in
oriental fashion.
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The Adoration of the Kings in the Snow
1567
Bruegel has shifted the Adoration from the centre to the
left-hand edge of the picture, depicting it rather
indistinctly behind a curtain of snow. The work is
characterized not by the religious motif but by a natural
event and the life of the people in a village in wintertime.
It is possible that we have here the first painting in the
history of European art to depict falling snow.
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Landscape with the
flight into Egypt
1563
As is the case with many of his paintings, Bruegel has treated
the biblical motif here as if it were merely of minor
importance.
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