Pieter Bruegel, Peasant's Wedding, 1568

Pieter Bruegel did not imbue his painting with much meaning. I like that. At this wedding, what he shows us stands alone, with no symbolic meaning hiding behind the pigment. Bruegel depicts here one of his favorite scenes. He often visited peasant weddings. His painting shows the bride in front of a blue tapestry with a serene, satisfied look on her face. A dark red crown rests on her head. However, the groom’s identity remains mysterious. He hides somewhere in the painting. Some guess he is the equine man gregariously calling for more wine in the foreground. Actually, I haven’t seen anyone guess anything other than that. But no one really knows. Everyone seems to enjoy the feast. Two musicians serenade the crowd with bagpipes, and one man in back seems to enjoy a large jug of wine a little too much. A priest and a lord, identified by their garb, sit apart from the peasants on the right side. They seem lost in their own world, separate from the revelers.

Compositionally, the piece radiates warmth. Dark reds and yellows spread throughout. Their feast feels sheltered. The outside world cannot intrude. As such, all of the extremely odd-looking people—they really do look strange—have contented smiles on their faces. Bruegel emphasized the hard work of the peasants. This feast represented their opportunity to take a break from the difficult life they usually lead.

This piece truly has almost no meaning behind it. I did find one cool thing. Apparently the spoon in the hat of the man carrying the pies shows that he is poor, because he never knows where he will have supper that night. He comes prepared. Other than that, Bruegel’s painting has no deeper meaning. I think that in this case, that fits the piece. Bruegel sought to depict the simplistic lives of peasants; these people worked to survive. They had no time to search for deeper meaning or reflect on the classics. Moments like this were their only solace.