Children's Games

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

1560 · Oil on oak panel · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Size4:3 ratio

Frame

$79Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Children's Games

Haymaking

The Fight Between Carnival and Lent

3 × $79 at 32 × 24 in, unframed = $237 → $213.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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About this work

Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569)
Year: 1560
Medium: Oil on oak panel
Original size: 118 × 161 cm
Collection: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Movement: Northern Renaissance

Hundreds of children have taken over a town square and its streets: they roll hoops, walk on stilts, spin tops, ride hobby-horses and barrels, play leapfrog and blind man's buff, blow up a pig's bladder, stage mock weddings and mock tournaments, and even occupy the large civic building at the centre; at the top left a river opens into countryside where more children swim. Bruegel signed and dated the panel 1560. Around eighty particular games have been identified, making it a record of sixteenth-century play, but scholars think it also carries a moral: the children are as absorbed in their games as adults are in their own business, which in the sight of God may be no more important. It has been suggested it was meant as the first of a series on the ages of man, though no companion pieces are known. Karel van Mander mentioned it in 1604. Archduke Ernst acquired it in Brussels in 1594, and it hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A sunlit town square packed with tiny children at play, warm ochre and brick with touches of red and blue, for a kitchen, family room or playroom at 32×24 in natural wood. A cream, sage or soft yellow wall; it pairs with Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Northern Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (1560)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: classic
Rooms: kitchen, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 32×24. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is Children's Games in the public domain?

Yes. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Kunsthistorisches Museum.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 16×12, 24×18 and 32×24 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Children's Games painted, and in what medium?

Children's Games dates from 1560 and was made in oil on oak panel; the original measures 118 × 161 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 32×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 24×18 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Children's Games we'd choose 32×24. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

Children's Games (Pieter Bruegel the Elder) — Children's Games · Pieter Bruegel the Elder · 1560. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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