Born in the Netherlands sometime between 1525 and 1530, Pieter Broigel, the elder, is heralded

as the most significant artist of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, at least in the

16th century.

Moving away from religious, classical and historical subjects, as the focus for painting,

Broigel pioneered these amazing landscapes and town scenes, often filled with ordinary

people.

I happen to love his fight between carnival and lent.

Carnival is depicted as a fat man with a pot belly, ruddy face, cheerful, hung about

with food and sat on a barrel of drink, and lent is a thin, old woman dressed in black

and hung about with fish.

Although Broigel was a pioneer, in part this was because he was a product of his time,

16th century Northern Europe was a wash with political and religious debates, and if we

treat Broigel's work as a whole, we can see, as today's guest argues, that it thrums

with humanity, pushing people to question their own and others' natures, just as thinkers

like Erasmus did using the written word.

With the showing people at labour or enjoying pleasure, in scenes of daily life or moments

of ritual and even in his fantastical, surreal spectacles, Broigel explores what it is to

be human.

Is man ignorant and insignificant?

Is he overambitious and prideful?

Is he warlike and a bringer of chaos?

To learn more about this fascinating perspective on Broigel's work, I'm very pleased to welcome

...