9. ”Netherlandish Proverbs”
This painting belongs to Pieter Bruegel the Elder was made in 1559. The Dutch painter included in this painting visual representations of over 100 common sayings and quotations. Trying to identify those proverbs can as entertaining today as it was 450 years ago.
The ”Netherlandish Proverbs” painting presents a crowded village and it’s people engaged in different and unusual activities. It may seem confusing at a first look but each villager embodies a different proverb that belongs to the Dutch language.
On the roof, you can spot some unusual things that look like pies, and it is seen as an interpretation of wealth because in dutch having the roof tiled with pies symbolizes richness.
The person looking over a plate of food refers to the proverb ”He who has spilled his porridge cannot scrape it all up again”. The meaning this illustration has is that there is absolutely no use crying over spilled milk.
