The Gloomy Day

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

1565 · Oil on oak panel · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 24×36 in black. A deep green, charcoal or warm stone wall; it pairs with The Hunters in the Snow.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Northern Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (1565)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, dining room, dorm room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

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

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The Gloomy Day 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 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 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 The Gloomy Day painted, and in what medium?

The Gloomy Day dates from 1565 and was made in oil on oak panel; the original measures 118 × 163 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Gloomy Day we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Gloomy Day — the Gloomy Day — a storm breaking over a river estuary in early spring as villagers cut willow branches — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Bruegel: The Peasant and the Seasons, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — 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 Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

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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