The Harvesters1565
In the heat of late summer, peasants break for a midday meal under a pear tree, sharing bread and fruit, while one man sprawls asleep and others go on scything and binding the golden wheat. More about this work
About this work
In the heat of late summer, peasants break for a midday meal under a pear tree, sharing bread and fruit, while one man sprawls asleep and others go on scything and binding the golden wheat. Beyond, the landscape opens onto a village, a church and a distant harbour. Bruegel painted this panel in 1565 as one of a series of six showing the times of the year for the Antwerp merchant Niclaes Jongelinck; five survive. Its sweeping view and down-to-earth observation of rural labour made it a landmark in the history of landscape painting.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil on panel
- Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Pieter Bruegel
Netherlandish, c. 1525/30–1569 · Died in Brussels.
Bruegel trained in Antwerp, travelled through Italy in the early 1550s, and on his return made drawings for the publisher Hieronymus Cock, many in the manner of Hieronymus Bosch. In 1563 he moved to Brussels. His paintings of peasant festivals, proverbs and the seasons look closely at village life and landscape, and The Harvesters belongs to his series of the months painted in 1565 for the Antwerp merchant Niclaes Jongelinck. The Rabbit Hunt is the only etching he made himself.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 19.164
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
