The Gloomy Day
1565 · Oil on oak panel · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
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About this work
- Artist
- Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569)
- Year
- 1565
- Medium
- Oil on oak panel
- Original size
- 118 × 163 cm
- Collection
- Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
- Movement
- Northern Renaissance
- Series
- The Seasons (1565)
Under a dark, storm-heavy sky, a broad river valley opens below a village in late winter: ships founder against the shore of the estuary, snow still lies on the far mountains, and in the foreground villagers gather wood and cut willow rods, while a boy in a paper crown eats a waffle, a sign that it is Carnival before Lent. It is the first painting of the six-part series on the times of the year that Bruegel made in Antwerp in 1565 for the merchant Nicolaes Jonghelinck, showing the months around February and March; in the Netherlands of his day the year began on 1 March. The panel is signed and dated BRVEGEL MDLXV at the lower right. With The Hunters in the Snow and The Return of the Herd, it went with the series in 1594 from the city of Antwerp to Archduke Ernst, then to Emperor Rudolf II and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm. It hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A storm-dark early spring valley with bare trees, a wrecked ship in the estuary and snowy peaks, in olive, umber and slate, for a study, hallway or living room at 32×24 in black. A deep green, charcoal or warm stone wall; it pairs with The Hunters in the Snow.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Northern Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1565)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, 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. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Gloomy Day in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Gloomy Day painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
