In the history of European art, there are many artists who are extremely passionate about creating works with peasant themes, and they believe that these themes are closer to life than myths and biblical stories. For example, Miller, a representative painter of realism, and Pissarro, a member of the Impressionists, both depicted a large number of peasant lives, so they were also called peasant painters.
Miller, The Gleaner
But do you know who was the first artist in art history to paint peasant themes? Yes, that's right, he's our protagonist of this issue, Peter Bruegel.
Peter Bruegel was the greatest painter of the Netherlands in the 16th century and the first "peasant painter" in the history of fine arts. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to rural life as a subject of artistic creation, and people called him "the Bruegel of the peasants". In addition, he was also good at thinking, naturally humorous, and fond of exaggerated artistic modeling, so people gave him a nickname called "Funny Bruegel". And the work we want to know today is one of his many representative works, "The Peasant's Wedding".
"The Farmer's Wedding" is the most famous of his works on the life of a farmer. We have all had the experience of attending a wedding, recalling the wedding scene we have seen, and then experiencing Bruegel's wedding together, what kind of wedding scene is this?
Through the picture, we can see that the scene of the wedding is just a slightly decorated warehouse, the background is a wall made of hay, and people sit on benches made of tree trunks. In the foreground, two strong farmers carry a door panel, and on the door panel there is a thin layer of bread or rice porridge on the plate.
In the lower left corner of the picture, there is a young man pouring wine, and beside him is a little girl, wearing a hat that does not seem to belong to her age, licking her fingers with relish, as if telling the world not to waste food.
However, it seems that it is difficult to find the protagonist of the wedding, the bride. Look closely, there is a dark green tapestry on the wall, as if it were temporarily hung. Under the tapestry sat a woman, wearing a papier-mâché flower crown, presumably the bride, dressed in an ordinary dress, without a white wedding dress. Squinting his eyes and folding his hands, he seemed to be out of the hustle and bustle of the environment, reveling in the anticipation of this wedding alone. The red fluttering face was not beautiful, and the happy smile hung unconsciously on the corner of the mouth. She is the most eye-catching protagonist in the whole scene, in the whole painting. To her left sat two calm-looking old men who looked like her parents, and the woman in the white turban on the right was probably a bridesmaid.
In fact, such a simple wedding scene is difficult to find now. Although there are many characters in the painting, they eat and drink with their own care, and seem to be completely outside the whole wedding.
Such a scene contrast is precisely the painter's deliberate drawing in order to show the hardships of peasant life, so we can hardly see everyone's smile in the picture, and it is this form of expression that depicts tragedy as a comedy, which reflects the painter's concern and sympathy for the peasants.
This is the peasant's wedding, a simple and festive day. Through a series of painting techniques, the painter makes us feel that although it is an ordinary peasant feast, it is filled with a solemn and even holy atmosphere. Through the window of art, we feel the most sincere and warm emotions of people at that time, and this is the most valuable wealth that the artist wants to leave to the world. What constantly impresses us is not only the artists' superb painting skills, but also the stories behind their works. We always say: "Art is fake, it is lying to you, but it is more real than life at a certain moment, more moving to us", it is like a light, from life to life.