The Land of Cockaigne Pieter Brueghel The Elder (1525-1569)

Description of Peter Brueghel’s "Land of the Lazy"

Bruegel was a master of satire. More than once in his works one could find a hidden chuckle in relation to Dutch society. Thus, Bruegel’s painting "The Land of the Slackers" also concentrates a satirical spirit. The artist mocks the vicious society, resenting the fact that it does nothing to improve its existence.

In the left corner of the painting, the author left his signature, dating the work to 1567. In fact, it is very rare to find out the exact year of a painting, as not all artists date their work.

"The Land of Lazybones" is a fabulous place. It is a country made popular by European fairy tales, in which it has been described more than once. It is a place where milk rivers flow and the shores are acidic.

The first time that there is a country where no one does not do anything, but only eats candy, was written in a poetic tale by Hans Sachs. The author wrote it in 1536, but it was published only 10 years later. Perhaps it was it that became the basis for the artist to write his famous painting. In general, the tale has a lot in common with the picture painted by the artist.

At the same time, each of the characters in the picture belongs to a different class of society. With this, Bruegel showed that all equally do nothing: on the floor and sleeps a knight, and a soldier, and a peasant, and even a schoolboy. In addition, the author makes fun of the fact that they are all lazy people who are used to sitting around doing nothing all the time.

However, despite the fact that the picture has many features in common with the fairy tale, it still has some original characteristics. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that Bruegel painted it based only on the description from the fairy tale. On the contrary, he added something of his own, which makes the painting even more original and unusual.