Netherlandish Proverbs

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

1559 · Oil on oak panel · Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Size3:2 ratio

Frame

$79Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Netherlandish Proverbs

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

The Census at Bethlehem

3 × $79 at 36 × 24 in, unframed = $237 → $213.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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About this work

Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569)
Year: 1559
Medium: Oil on oak panel
Original size: 117 × 163 cm
Collection: Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Movement: Northern Renaissance

A village by the sea is crowded with people acting out, literally, more than a hundred Dutch sayings and idioms: a man bangs his head against a brick wall, another fills in the well after the calf has drowned, a woman hangs a blue cloak on her husband, the sign that she deceives him, and the world itself is turned upside down on the sign of the inn. The painting's early titles, The Blue Cloak and The Folly of the World, show that Bruegel meant it less as a puzzle than as a catalogue of human foolishness. He painted it in Antwerp in 1559, when collections of proverbs, among them Erasmus's Adagia, were widely read; an engraving of 43 proverbs by Frans Hogenberg from about the same time is close in composition. Bruegel's son Pieter the Younger made at least sixteen copies, which vary in the sayings shown. The original, signed and dated 1559, was bought by the Berlin museums from an English collection in 1914 and hangs in the Gemäldegalerie.

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 crowded seaside village of tiny figures acting out proverbs among red-roofed houses, ochre, red and green under a pale sky, for a study, hallway or dining room at 36×24 in black. A cream, ochre or warm white wall; it pairs with The Tower of Babel.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Northern Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (1559)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: classic
Rooms: dining room, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 36×24. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 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: 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 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 Netherlandish Proverbs 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 Gemäldegalerie.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 18×12, 24×16 and 36×24 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 Netherlandish Proverbs painted, and in what medium?

Netherlandish Proverbs dates from 1559 and was made in oil on oak panel; the original measures 117 × 163 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 36×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 24×16 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Netherlandish Proverbs we'd choose 36×24. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

Netherlandish Proverbs (Pieter Bruegel the Elder) — Netherlandish Proverbs · Pieter Bruegel the Elder · 1559. 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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