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UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Making Them Laugh: Elements of the Comic in the Peasant Revel Scenes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1550-1580 A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of Art History of the School of Art of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning May 2008 by Daniela Langusi BA, Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, Romania, 1993 Committee Chair: Dr. Diane Mankin Abstract The peasant scenes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder have triggered a scholarly debate that relies on two different approaches. One view attaches to these images a primary moralizing message, while the other places them within the cultural context of the contemporary art of laughter. In my thesis I will argue that the peasant revel scenes are primarily comic in nature, without diminishing the moralizing message. My argument relies on two main theories developed by Henri Bergson and Mikhail Bakhtin, as well as on the similarity between the visual elements employed by Pieter Bruegel and the comic practices and techniques employed in the theatrical art of commedia dell’arte. I discuss the role of the peasant as a comic type and the use of grotesque realism in the visual representation of the body and the lower material bodily stratum as indicators that artists chose their visual vocabulary with a comic intent. iii Acknowledgements I am very grateful for the encouragement and support of the Art History faculty and staff throughout my studies at the University of Cincinnati. I would like to thank Professor Diane Mankin for her support and help in the process of developing my ideas for this thesis. I also thank Professor Kimberly Paice and Professor Teresa Pac for serving on my thesis committee. v Table of Contents List of Illustrations vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 12 The Scholarly Debate on the Meaning and Interpretation of Sixteenth- Century Flemish Paintings and Prints of Peasant Scenes Chapter 2 19 A Theoretical Approach to the Comic in the Visual Arts in Relationship to the Peasant Scenes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder Chapter 3 38 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the Culture of Laughter in Sixteenth-Century Flanders, and Comic Practices in Commedia Dell’Arte Chapter 4 51 Comic Strategies in the Peasant Revel Paintings and Prints of Pieter Bruegel the Elder Conclusion 69 Bibliography 73 Illustrations 78 vi List of Illustrations Fig. 1. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Wedding Dance, 1566, oil on panel, 119.4 x 157.5 cm, The Detroit Institute of Arts Fig. 1a. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of The Wedding Dance, 1566, oil on panel, 119.4 x 157.5 cm, The Detroit Institute of Arts Fig. 2. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Peasant Wedding Banquet, c. 1567, oil on panel, 114 x 164 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Fig. 2a. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of The Peasant Wedding Banquet, c. 1567, oil on panel, 114 x 164 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Fig. 3. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Peasant Dance, c. 1567, oil on panel, 114 x 164 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Fig. 3a. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of Peasant Dance, c. 1567, oil on panel, 114 x 164 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Fig. 4. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Netherlandish Proverbs, 1559, oil on panel, 117.5 x 163.5 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäaldegalerie Fig. 5. Anonymous, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Wild Man, 1566, woodcut, 27.2 x 41 cm Fig. 6. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Death of the Virgin, c. 1564, grisaille, oil on panel, 36 x 55 cm, National Trust, Upton House, Banbury Fig. 7. Philips Galle, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Christ on the Road to Emmaus, 1571, posthumous engraving, 24.8 x 19.3 cm Fig. 8a. Hans Sebald Beham, Large Kermis, 1535, woodcut, left side Fig. 8b. Hans Sebald Beham, Large Kermis, 1535, woodcut, right side Fig. 9. Hans Sebald Beham, Nose Dance, 1535, woodcut, right side Fig. 10. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Witch of Mallegem, 1559, engraving, 35.3 x 47.3 cm Fig. 10a. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Detail of The Witch of Mallegem, 1559, engraving, 35.3 x 47.3 cm vii Fig. 11. Hieronymus Bosch, The Extraction of the Stone of Folly, c. 1494, oil on panel, 48 x 35 cm, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado Fig. 12. Pieter Quast, “The Triumph of Folly,” a Scene from the Play “Tarquinius and Brutus” in the Amsterdam Municipal Theatre, 1643, canvas, 69.5 x 99 cm, Theater Museum, Amsterdam Fig. 13. Anonymous, Emblem, Antwerp, 1631 Fig. 14. Pieter Baltens, Peasant Kermis with the “Clucht van plaijerwater,” after 1540, oil on panel, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Fig. 14a. Pieter Baltens, Detail of Peasant Kermis with the “Clucht van plaijerwater,” after 1540, oil on panel, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Fig. 15. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Battle Between Carnival and Lent, 1559, oil on panel, 118 x 164.5 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Fig. 16. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Land of Cockaigne, 1567, oil on panel, 52 x 78 cm, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, Munich Fig. 17. Harlequin, Zan Corneto and Pantalone making music, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 18. Harlequin and a milkmaid break eggs and glasses during a dance, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 19. Jacques Callot, Balli di Sfessania, 1622, Frontispiece Fig. 20. Jacques Callot, Balli di Sfessania, 1622 Fig. 21. Jacques Callot, Balli di Sfessania, 1622 Fig. 22. Jacques Callot, Balli di Sfessania, 1622 Fig. 23. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Festival of Fools, after 1570, posthumous print, engraving, 32.5 x 43.7 cm Fig. 23a. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Detail of The Festival of Fools, after 1570, posthumous print, engraving, 32.5 x 43.7 cm Fig. 24. Hans Sebald Beham, A Dancing Fool, 1549, drawing Fig. 25. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Wedding of Mopsus and Nisa (“The Dirty Bride”), engraving, c. 1570, 26.4 x 41.6 cm viii Fig. 26. Claude Gillot, Harlequin as a glutton, drawing, 17th century Fig. 27. Harlequin banqueting, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 28. Harlequin and Philipin banqueting, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 29. Harlequin and Franceschina caught by Pantalone, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 30. Zan Zacagni in a tavern, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 31. Arlequin vole un baiser à la Dona Cornelia, Recueil Fossard, 16th century Fig. 32. Frans Hogenberg, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Kermis at Hoboken, c. 1559, etching and engraving, 29.8 x 40.8 cm Fig. 32a. Frans Hogenberg, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of Kermis at Hoboken, c. 1559, etching and engraving, 29.8 x 40.8 cm Fig. 33. Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Wedding Dance in a Barn, oil on panel, 86 x 102 cm, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin Fig. 33a. Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Detail of Wedding Dance in a Barn, oil on panel, 86 x 102 cm, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin Fig. 34. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Peasant Wedding Dance, after 1570, posthumous print, engraving, 37.5 x 42.3 cm Fig. 34a. Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of Peasant Wedding Dance, after 1570, posthumous print, engraving, 37.5 x 42.3 cm Fig. 35. Die Augsburger Monatsbilder, 1520-1525, Mural, Augsburg, Germany, Detail Fig. 36. The Mad Mother Flag, c. 15th–16th centuries, Dijon, France Fig. 37. Joannes and Lucas van Doetecum, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Saint George’s Kermis, c. 1559, engraving, 33.2 x 52.3 cm Fig. 37a. Joannes and Lucas van Doetecum, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of Saint George’s Kermis, c. 1559, engraving, 33.2 x 52.3 cm Fig. 38. Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Kermesse of Saint George, 1628, oil on panel, 116.8 x 175.5 cm, private collection Fig. 38a. Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Details of Kermesse of Saint George, 1628, oil on panel, 116.8 x 175.5 cm, private collection ix Fig. 39. Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Peasants Making Merry Outside a Tavern ‘The Swan,’ c. 1630, oil on panel, 55 x 69 cm, private collection Fig. 40. Jan Bruegel the Elder, Wedding Dance, c. 1597, oil on wood, 37.4 x 55.2 cm, private collection Fig. 41. Frans Huys, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Ice Skating before the Gate of St. George, c. 1558, engraving, 23.1 x 29.3 cm Fig. 41a. Frans Huys, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Details of Ice Skating before the Gate of St. George, c. 1558, engraving, 23.1 x 29.3 cm x Introduction The Dutch and Flemish peasant revel scenes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are commonly considered a specific Northern European artistic phenomenon, a tradition started by Peter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569) that carries an intrinsic moral message warning against contemptible behavior. Nonetheless, their interpretation, meaning, social function, and reception have triggered an intense debate in Northern art scholarship, with art historians arguing mainly in two opposing directions. One view attaches to these images a moralizing content and message, considering a priori that artists expressed the contemporary elite’s general negative attitude towards the unrestrained festive behavior of the lower classes.1 The other view places these images within a larger cultural context that allows for their interpretation as manifestations of the contemporary art of laughter.2 The scholarly debate triggered in the early 1970s by the articles of Svetlana Alpers and Hessel Miedema focuses on the interpretation of Pieter Bruegel’s peasant scenes, bestowing on them two apparently contradictory meanings, one comic, the other moralizing.