PIETER BRUEGEL, the Elder (after)
Eindhoven about 1525-1569 Bruxelles
The Peasant Wedding Dance (2nd State), circa 1570
Engraving by Pieter van der Heyden (born 1530)
330 x 420 mm.; 12 15/16 x 16 1/2 inches
Watermark:
Coat of Arms
Reference:
Bastelaer 210
Hollstein 210-II/IV
Notes:
1. A fine impression of the 2nd State (of four states) of this work before the addition to the plate of the address of the publisher Galle. Full image, but with part of lower text lacking. An extremely rare work, particularly in early impressions.
2. As pointed out by Orenstein (Nadine M. Orenstein Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001: no. 113, pp. 248-250), this engraving relates in large part to the Bruegel painting of 1566 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The print also could relate to a now lost drawing or another painting of the same subject. Orenstein (ref. above) also notes that the inscription Aux quatre Vents, inscribed at bottom of image, shows that this print did not actually appear until just after the death in 1570 of the publisher Hieronymus Cock. It seems that this form of address was used by Cock’s widow.
3. The "bride" in this scene is not dancing but is seen seated at the table in the background. According to the inscription, she is "full and sweet" and therefore probably pregnant. To be noted also is the strange, solitary figure dressed in scholarly clothes and quietly observing the scene from the right-center of the image. The role and nature of this figure adds a mysterious and rather somber element to this otherwise wildly gay scene.