Proverbs

The name Brueghel surfaces numerous times in the original Rockox collection. Precious little is known about the life of Pieter II. He was born the eldest son of the famous Pieter I Bruegel. Given that he was but four or five years old when his father died, presumably he, along with his bother Jan I, learned about the business of painting from his grandmother, Mayken Verhulst. The art of Pieter II is completely in line with that of his father; not only did he copy numerous works repeatedly, but also paintings that were the core of his own inspiration are influenced by the popular style of his father. The proverbs from the collection of the Rockoxhuis is an exceptional copy of the painting that Pieter I Bruegel painted in 1559 in Antwerp and that is presently found in Berlin. The more than one hundred proverbs form a critique on society. The proverbs are brought under two groups. The first group illustrates the absurdity of the human interactions and turns the world on its head, symbolised by a globe from which the cross is pointed downwards. From these erratic behaviours sins can originate, which make up a part of the second category of tableaux. This is centrally symbolised by the unfaithful wife who bedecks her man with the blue hood.