Netherlandish Proverbs

"Topsy Turvy World" redirects here. For the Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes, see Topsy Turvy World (Rocky and Bullwinkle).

This article is about a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. For the proverb and its influence on other art, see The Blue Cloak.

Netherlandish Proverbs (Dutch: Nederlandse Spreekwoorden; also called Flemish Proverbs, The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder that depicts a scene in which humans and, to a lesser extent, animals and objects, offer literal illustrations of Dutch-language proverbs and idioms.

Netherlandish Proverbs
Artist	Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year	1559
Medium	Oil-on-panel
Dimensions	117 cm × 163 cm (46 in × 64 in)
Location	Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Running themes in Bruegel's paintings that appear in Netherlandish Proverbs are the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of humans. Its original title, The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World, indicates that Bruegel's intent was not just to illustrate proverbs, but rather to catalogue human folly. Many of the people depicted show the characteristic blank features that Bruegel used to portray fools.^[1]

His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, specialised in making copies of his father's work and painted at least 16 copies of Netherlandish Proverbs.^[2] Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs and they also differ in other minor details.

History

Context

Proverbs were very popular in Bruegel's time and before; a hundred years before Bruegel's painting, illustrations of proverbs had been popular in the Flemish books of hours.^[3] A number of collections were published, including Adagia, by the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus.^[4] The French writer François Rabelais employed significant numbers in his novel Gargantua and Pantagruel, completed in 1564.^[5]

The Flemish artist Frans Hogenberg made an engraving illustrating 43 proverbs in around 1558, roughly the same time as Bruegel's painting.^[6][7] The work is very similar in composition to Bruegel's and includes certain proverbs (like the Blue Cloak) which also feature prominently in Netherlandish Proverbs.^[7] By depicting literal renditions of proverbs in a peasant setting, both artists have shown a "world turned upside down".^[7]

Bruegel himself had painted several minor paintings on the subject of proverbs including Big Fish Eat Little Fish (1556) and Twelve Proverbs (1558), but Netherlandish Proverbs is thought to have been his first large-scale painting on the theme.

The painting

The painting, dated 1559, is considered the best of a series of similar paintings which at one time or other have all previously been attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, has been x-rayed for its underdrawing to compare it to other versions. None of the versions have a provenance going back further than the late 19th-century, but Brueghel scholars believe that the paintings are the elder Bruegel's inventions, which all make use of a life-size cartoon with the same underdrawing as that used in the Berlin version.^[8] The paintings, which are not inscribed, tease the viewer into guessing proverbs. They are based on 1558 and earlier engravings that are inscribed, in Flemish. The most notable of these regarding the paintings is by Frans Hogenberg, and it is dated 1558 and accompanied by the title Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt, maer des weerelts abvisen he beter betaempt (English: Often called 'The Blue Cloak', this could better be called 'The World's Follies'). The Doetecum brothers produced a print series in 1577 called De Blauwe Huyck. Theodoor Galle also made a print, dated later, with a similar title: Dese wtbeeldinghe wort die blauw hvyck genaemt, maer deze werelts abvysen haer beter betaemt.^[9]

Proverbs and idioms

Critics have praised the composition for its ordered portrayal and integrated scene.^[7] There are approximately 126 identifiable proverbs and idioms in the scene, although Bruegel may have included others which cannot be determined because of the language change. Some of those incorporated in the painting are still in popular use, for instance "Swimming against the tide", "Banging one's head against a brick wall" and "Armed to the teeth". Many more have faded from use, which makes analysis of the painting harder. "Having one's roof tiled with tarts", for example, which meant to have an abundance of everything and was an image Bruegel would later feature in his painting of the idyllic Land of Cockaigne (1567).

The Blue Cloak, the piece's original title, features in the centre of the piece and is being placed on a man by his wife, indicating that she is cuckolding him. Other proverbs indicate human foolishness. A man fills in a pond after his calf has died. Just above the central figure of the blue-cloaked man, another man carries daylight in a basket. Some of the figures seem to represent more than one figure of speech (whether this was Bruegel's intention or not is unknown), such as the man shearing a sheep in the centre bottom left of the picture. He is sitting next to a man shearing a pig, so represents the expression "One shears sheep and one shears pigs", meaning that one has the advantage over the other, but may also represent the advice "Shear them but don't skin them", meaning make the most of available assets.

List of proverbs and idioms featured in the painting

Expressions featured in the painting^[10][11]

	Proverb/idiom	Meaning	Area	Image
001	To be able to tie even the devil to a pillow ^(fr)^(nl)	Obstinacy overcomes everything	Lower left
002	To be a pillar-biter ^(fr)^(nl)^(it)^(lmo)	To be a religious hypocrite	Lower left
003	Never believe someone who carries fire in one hand and water in the other ^(fr)^(nl)	To be two-faced and to stir up trouble	Lower left
004	To bang one's head against a brick wall ^(fr)^(nl)	To waste one's time on an impossible task	Lower left
005	One foot shod, the other bare^(fr)^(nl)	Balance is paramount	Lower left
006	The sow pulls the bung ^(fr)^(nl)	Negligence will be rewarded with disaster	Lower left
007	To bell the cat ^(fr)^(nl)	To carry out a dangerous or impractical plan	Lower left
008	To be armed to the teeth ^(fr)^(nl)	To be heavily armed	Lower left
009	To put your armor on ^(fr)^(nl)	To be angry	Lower left
010	One shears sheep, the other shears pigs ^(fr)^(nl)	One has all the advantages, the other none	Lower left
011	Shear them but do not skin them ^(fr)^(nl)	Do not press your advantage too far	Lower left
012	The herring does not fry here ^(nl)	It's not going according to plan	Lower left
013	To fry the whole herring for the sake of the roe ^(fr)^(nl)	To do too much to achieve a little	Lower left
014	To get the lid on the head ^(nl)	To end up taking responsibility	Lower left
015	The herring hangs by its own gills ^(fr)^(nl)	You must accept responsibility for your own actions	Lower left
016	There is more in it than an empty herring ^(nl)	There is more to it than meets the eye	Lower left
017	What can smoke do to iron? ^(fr)^(nl)	There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable	Lower left
018	To find the dog in the pot ^(fr)^(nl)	To arrive too late for dinner and find all the food has been eaten	Lower left^[note 1]
019	To sit between two stools in the ashes ^(fr)^(nl)	To be indecisive	Lower left
020	To be a hen feeler ^(fr)^(nl)	To be very miserly (feeling whether the hen is about to lay an egg before slaughtering it)	Middle left
021	The scissors hang out there ^(fr)^(nl)	They are liable to cheat you there	Upper left
022	To always gnaw on a single bone ^(fr)^(nl)	To continually talk about the same subject	Upper left
023	It depends on the fall of the cards ^(fr)^(nl)	It is up to chance	Upper left
024	The world is turned upside down ^(fr)^(nl)	Everything is the opposite of what it should be	Upper left
025	Leave at least one egg in the nest ^(fr)^(nl)	Always have something in reserve	Upper left
026	To crap on the world ^(fr)^(nl)	To despise everything	Upper left
027	To lead each other by the nose ^(fr)^(nl)	To fool each other	Upper left
028	The die is cast ^(fr)^(nl)	The decision is made	Upper left
029	Fools get the best cards ^(fr)^(nl)	Luck can overcome intelligence	Upper left
030	To look through one's fingers ^(fr)^(nl)	To turn a blind eye	Upper left
031	There hangs the knife ^(fr)^(nl)	To issue a challenge	Upper left
032	There stand the wooden shoes ^(fr)^(nl)	To wait in vain	Upper left
033	To stick out the broom ^(fr)^(nl)	To have fun while the master is away	Upper left
034	To marry under the broomstick ^(fr)^(nl)	To live together without marrying	Upper left
035	To have the roof tiled with tarts ^(fr)^(nl)	To be very wealthy	Upper left
036	To have a hole in one's roof ^(fr)^(nl)	To be unintelligent	Upper left
037	An old roof needs a lot of patching up ^(fr)^(nl)	Old things need more maintenance	Upper left
038	The roof has laths^(fr)^(nl)	There could be eavesdroppers (The walls have ears)	Middle left
039	To have toothache behind the ears^(fr)^(nl)	To be a malingerer	Middle left
040	To be pissing against the moon^(fr)^(nl)	To waste one's time on a futile endeavour	Middle left
041	Here hangs the pot^(fr)^(nl)	It is the opposite of what it should be	Middle left
042	To shoot a second bolt to find the first^(fr)^(nl)	To repeat a foolish action	Upper left
043	To shave the fool without lather^(fr)^(nl)	To trick somebody	Middle
044	Two fools under one hood^(fr)^(nl)	Stupidity loves company	Middle
045	It grows out of the window^(fr)^(nl)	It cannot be concealed	Middle
046	To play on the pillory^(fr)^(nl)	To attract attention to one's shameful acts	Upper middle
047	When the gate is open the pigs will run into the corn^(fr)^(nl)	Disaster ensues from carelessness	Upper middle
048	When the corn decreases the pig increases	If one person gains then another must lose	Upper middle
049	To run like one's backside is on fire^(fr)^(nl)	To be in great distress	Upper middle
050	He who eats fire, craps sparks	Do not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous venture	Upper middle
051	To hang one's cloak according to the wind^(fr)^(nl)	To adapt one's viewpoint to the current opinion	Upper middle
052	To toss feathers in the wind ^(fr)^(nl)	To work fruitlessly	Upper middle
053	To gaze at the stork^(fr)^(nl)	To waste one's time	Upper middle
054	To try to kill two flies with one stroke^(fr)^(nl)	To be efficient (equivalent to today's To kill two birds with one stone)	Upper middle
055	To fall from the ox onto the rear end of an ass^(fr)^(nl)	To fall on hard times	Upper middle
056	To kiss the ring of the door ^(fr)^(nl)	To be obsequious	Upper middle
057	To wipe one's backside on the door ^(nl)	To treat something lightly	Upper middle
058	To go around shouldering a burden ^(fr) ^(nl)	To imagine that things are worse than they are	Upper middle
059	One beggar pities the other standing in front of the door^(nl)	Being afraid for competition	Upper middle
060	To fish behind the net ^(fr)^(nl)	To miss an opportunity	Middle
061	Sharks eat smaller fish ^(fr)^(nl)	Anything people say will be put in perspective according to their level of importance	Middle
062	To be unable to see the sun shine on the water^(fr)^(nl)	To be jealous of another's success	Middle
063	It hangs like a privy over a ditch ^(fr)^(nl)	Something that is extremely obvious	Middle
064	Anybody can see through an oak plank if there is a hole in it ^(fr)^(nl)	There is no point in stating the obvious	Middle
065	They both crap through the same hole ^(fr)^(nl)	They are inseparable comrades	Middle
066	To throw one's money into the water^(fr)^(nl)	To waste one's money	Middle
067	A wall with cracks will soon collapse^(fr)^(nl)	Anything poorly managed will soon fail	Middle right
068	To not care whose house is on fire as long as one can warm oneself at the blaze^(fr)^(nl)	To take every opportunity regardless of the consequences to others	Middle right
069	To drag the block^(fr)^(nl)	To be deceived by a lover or to work at a pointless task	Upper right
070	Fear makes the old woman trot^(fr)^(nl)	An unexpected event can reveal unknown qualities	Upper right
071	Horse droppings are not figs ^(fr)^(nl)	Do not be fooled by appearances	Upper right
072	If the blind lead the blind both will fall in the ditch^(fr)^(nl)	There is no point in being guided by others who are equally ignorant	Upper right
073	The journey is not yet over when one can discern the church and steeple ^(fr)^(nl)	Do not give up until the task is fully complete	Upper right
074	Everything, however finely spun, finally comes to the sun^(nl)	Nothing can be hidden forever	Upper right
075	To keep one's eye on the sail^(fr)^(nl)	To stay alert, be wary	Upper right
076	To crap on the gallows^(fr)^(nl)	To be undeterred by any penalty	Upper right
077	Where the carcass is, there fly the crows^(fr)^(nl)	If there's something to be gained, everyone hurries in front	Upper right
078	It is easy to sail before the wind^(fr)^(nl)	If conditions are favourable it is not difficult to achieve one's goal	Upper right
079	Who knows why geese go barefoot?^(fr)^(nl)	There is a reason for everything, though it may not be obvious	Upper right
080	If I am not meant to be their keeper, I will let geese be geese	Do not interfere in matters that are not your concern	Upper right
081	To see bears dancing^[note 2]^(fr)^(nl)	To be starving	Right
082	Wild bears prefer each other's company^[note 2]^(nl)	Peers get along better with each other than with outsiders	Right
083	To throw one's cowl over the fence^(fr)^(nl)	To discard something without knowing whether it will be required later	Right
084	It is ill to swim against the current^(fr)^(nl)	It is difficult to oppose the general opinion	Right
085	The pitcher goes to the water until it finally breaks^(fr)^(nl)	Everything has its limitations	Right
086	The broadest straps are cut from someone else's leather ^(fr)^(nl)	One is quick to another's money.	Right
087	To hold an eel by the tail^(fr)^(nl)	To undertake a difficult task (Compare: "Catch a tiger by the tail")	Right
088	To fall through the basket^(fr)^(nl)	To have your deception uncovered	Right
089	To be suspended between heaven and earth^(fr)^(nl)	To be in an awkward situation	Right
090	To keep the hen's egg and let the goose's egg go^(fr)^(nl)	To make a bad decision	Right
091	To yawn against the oven^(fr)^(nl)	To attempt more than one can manage	Lower right
092	To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another^(fr)^(nl)	To have difficulty living within budget	Lower right
093	A hoe without a handle^(fr)^(nl)	Probably something useless^[note 3]	Lower right
094	To look for the hatchet^(fr)^(nl)	To try to find an excuse	Lower right
095	Here he is with his lantern^(fr)^(nl)	To finally have an opportunity to show a talent	Lower right
096	A hatchet with a handle^(fr)^(nl)	Probably signifies "the whole thing"^[note 3]	Lower right
097	He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again^(fr)^(nl)	Once something is done it cannot be undone (Compare: "Don't cry over spilt milk")	Lower right
098	To put a spoke through someone's wheel^(fr)^(nl)	To put up an obstacle, to destroy someone's plans	Lower right
099	Love is on the side where the money bag hangs^(fr)^(nl)	Love can be bought	Lower right
100	To pull to get the longest end^(fr)^(nl)	To attempt to get the advantage	Lower right
101	To stand in one's own light^(fr)^(nl)	To behave contrarily to one's own happiness or advantage	Lower right
102	No one looks for others in the oven who has not been in there himself^(fr)^(nl)	To imagine wickedness in others is a sign of wickedness in oneself	Lower right
103	To have the world spinning on one's thumb^(fr)^(nl)	To have every advantage (Compare: "To have the world in the palm of your hand")	Lower right
104	To tie a flaxen beard to the face of Christ^(fr)^(nl)	To hide deceit under a veneer of Christian piety	Lower right
105	To have to stoop to get on in the world^(fr)^(nl)	To succeed one must be willing to make sacrifices	Lower right
106	To cast roses before swine^(fr)^(nl)	To waste effort on the unworthy	Lower middle
107	To fill the well after the calf has already drowned^(fr)^(nl)	To take action only after a disaster (Compare: "Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted")	Lower middle
108	To be as gentle as a lamb^(fr)^(nl)	Someone who is exceptionally calm or gentle	Lower middle
109	She puts the blue cloak on her husband^(fr)^(nl)	She deceives him	Lower middle
110	Watch out that a black dog does not come in between^(fr)^(nl)	Mind that things don't go wrong	Lower middle
111	One winds on the distaff what the other spins^(fr)^(nl)	Both spread gossip	Lower middle
112	To carry the day out in baskets^(fr)^(nl)^(de)	To waste one's time (Compare: "to carry coals to Newcastle" and "to sell sand in the desert") ^(de)	Middle
113	To hold a candle to the Devil^(fr)^(nl)^(de)	To flatter and make friends indiscriminately ^(de)	Middle
114	To confess to the Devil^(fr)^(nl)^(de)	To reveal secrets to one's enemy ^(de)	Middle
115	The pig is stabbed through the belly^(fr)^(nl)	A foregone conclusion or what is done can not be undone	Middle
116	Two dogs over one bone seldom agree^(fr)^(nl)	To argue over a single point	Middle
117	When two dogs fight out who gets the bone,the third one steals it^(fr)^(nl)	Self-explanatory	Middle
118	To be a skimming ladle^(fr)^(nl)	To be a parasite or sponger	Middle
119	What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it?^(fr)^(nl)	Beauty does not make up for substance	Middle
120	The Fox and the Stork or The Fox and the Crane dine together^(fr)^(nl)	If you trick someone they might get back at you^[note 4]	Middle
121	To blow in the ear^(fr)^(nl)	To spread gossip	Middle
122	Chalk up a debt^(fr)^(nl)	To owe someone a favour	Middle
123	The meat on the spit must be basted^(fr)^(nl)	Certain things need constant attention	Middle
124	There is no turning the spit with him^(fr)^(nl)	He is uncooperative	Middle
125	To sit on hot coals^(fr)^(nl)	To be impatient	Middle
126	To catch fish without a net^(fr)^(nl)	To profit from the work of others	Middle

Inspiration for other paintings

T. E. Breitenbach's 1975 painting Proverbidioms was inspired by this Dutch painting to depict English proverbs and idioms.

A 2014 illustration from the Hong Kong magazine Passion Times illustrates dozens of Cantonese proverbs.^[12][13]

In popular culture

The painting is featured on the album cover of Fleet Foxes self-titled first full-length album (2008).

Gallery

•  

  Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

•  

  Rockox House, Antwerp

•  

  Private collection

•  

  Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem

•  

  Noord Brabantsmuseum, Den Bosch

•  

  Stedelijk Museum Wuyts-Van Campen en Baron Caroly, Lier

Notes

1. The lighting makes it almost impossible to make out the dog.
2. The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.
3. The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.
4. This proverb derives from Aesop's Fables The Fox and the Crane.

Footnotes

1. "Pieter Bruegel". APARENCES. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
2. Wisse, Jacob. "Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525/30–1569)". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
3. Rudy, Kathryn M. (2007). "Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and the Borders of a Flemish Book of Hours". In Biemans, Jos; et al. (eds.). Manuscripten en miniaturen: Studies aangeboden aan Anne S. Korteweg bij haar afscheid van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Zutphen: Walburg. ISBN 9789057304712.
4. Erasmus, Desiderius. Adagia (Leiden 1700 ed.). University of Leiden: Department of Dutch language and literature.
5. O'Kane, Eleanor (1950). "The Proverb: Rabelais and Cervantes". Comparative Literature. 2 (4): 360–369. doi:10.2307/1768392. JSTOR 1768392.
6. Lebeer, L. (1939–40). "De Blauwe Huyck". Gentsche Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis. 6: 161–229.
7. "Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt / Maer des weerelts abuisen het beter betaempt". Prints. Nicolaas Teeuwisse. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
8. Breughel Enterprises, 2001-2002 exhibition on the work of Pieter Brueghel II's copies after his father's works, Historians of Netherlandish Art review
9. C. C. Barfoot and Richard Todd, The Great Emporium: the Low Countries as a cultural crossroads in the Renaissance and the eighteenth century (1992), p. 128; Google Books.
10. Hagen 2000, pp. 36–37.
11. "Spreekwoorden". Middeleeuwen. Literatuurgeschiedenis.org. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
12. "熱血時報 - 大粵港諺語 - 阿塗 - 專欄部落". passiontimes.hk.
13. "Cantonese Proverbs in One Picture". 廣府話小研究Cantonese Resources. 25 February 2014.

References

• Hagen, Rainer (2000). Hagen, Rose-Marie (ed.). Bruegel: The Complete Paintings. Taschen. ISBN 3822859915.
• De Rynck, Patrick (1963). How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters. New York: Abrams. ISBN 0810955768.
• "The Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Younger". Fleming Museum, University of Vermont. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2007. not found 6 Nov. 2022
• Mieder, Wolfgang (2004). "The Netherlandish Proverbs: An International Symposium on the Pieter Brueg(h)els". University of Vermont.
• Dundes, Alan and Claudia A. Stibbe (1981). The Art of Mixing Metaphors: A Folkloristic Interpretation of the Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia Academia Scientiarum Fennica. ISBN 9514104242.

Further reading

• Orenstein, Nadine M., ed. (2001). Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870999901.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Netherlandish Proverbs (Bruegel the Elder).

• Bruegel's The Dutch Proverbs, Smarthistory video, commentary by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker
• The Netherlandish Proverbs, Zoomable and Annotated
• Interactive mobile/responsive version of The Netherlandish Proverbs