Netherlandish Proverbs

Netherlandish Proverbs
Artist	Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year	1559
Type	Oil-on-panel
Location	Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Netherlandish Proverbs (also called The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder which depicts a land populated with literal renditions of Flemish proverbs of the day. The picture is overflowing with references and most of the representations can still be identified; while many of the proverbs have either been forgotten or never made the transition to the English language, some are still in use. Proverbs were popular during Bruegel's time: a number of collections were published including a famous work by Erasmus. Frans Hogenberg had produced an engraving illustrating about 40 proverbs in around 1558 and Bruegel himself had painted a collection of Twelve Proverbs on individual panels by 1558 and had also produced Big Fish Eat Little Fish in 1556, but Netherlandish Proverbs is thought to be the first large scale painting on the theme. Rabelais depicted a land of proverbs in his novel Pantagruel soon after in 1564.

Bruegel's paintings have themes of the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of mankind, and this painting is no exception. The picture was originally entitled The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World which indicates he was not intending to produce a mere collection of proverbs but rather a study of human stupidity. Many of the people depicted show the characteristic blank features which Bruegel used to portray fools. His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, specialised in making copies of his father's work, and painted up to twenty copies of Netherlandish Proverbs. Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs, also differing in other details.

Detail

There are around 112 identifiable idioms in the scene (although Bruegel may have included others). Some are still in use today, amongst them: "swimming against the tide", "big fish eat little fish", "banging one's head against a brick wall" and "armed to the teeth", and there are some that are familiar if not identical to the modern English usage, such as "casting roses before swine". Many more have faded from use or have never been used in English, "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. The Blue Cloak referred to in the painting's original title is being placed on the man in the centre of the picture by his wife. This was indicative that she was cuckolding him. Other proverbs indicate mankind's 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 sat 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 he may also represent the advice "shear them but don't skin them" meaning make the most of your assets.

Expressions featured in the painting

Proverb	Meaning	Area	Image
To even be able to tie the devil to a pillow (fr)(nl)	Obstinacy overcomes everything	Lower left
To be a pillar-biter (fr)(nl)	To be a religious hypocrite	Lower left
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
To bang one's head against a brick wall (fr)(nl)	To try to achieve the impossible	Lower left
One foot shod, the other bare(fr)(nl)	Balance is paramount	Lower left
The sow pulls the bung (fr)(nl)	Negligence will be rewarded with disaster	Lower left
To bell the cat (fr)(nl)	To carry out a dangerous or impractical plan	Lower left
To be armed to the teeth (fr)(nl)	To be heavily armed	Lower left
To put your armor on (fr)(nl)	To be angry	Lower left
One shears sheep, the other shears pigs (fr)(nl)	One has all the advantages, the other none	Lower left
Shear them but do not skin them (fr)(nl)	Do not press your advantage too far	Lower left
The herring does not fry here(fr)(nl)	It's not going according to plan	Lower left
To fry the whole herring for the sake of the roe (nl)	To do too much to achieve a little	Lower left
To get the lid on the head (nl)	To end up taking responsibility	Lower left
The herring hangs by its own gills (fr)(nl)	You must accept responsibility for your own actions	Lower left
There is more in it than an empty herring (nl)	There is more to it than meets the eye	Lower left
What can smoke do to iron? (fr)(nl)	There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable	Lower left
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
To sit between two stools in the ashes (fr)(nl)	To be indecisive	Lower left
To be a hen feeler (fr)(nl)	To count one's chickens before they hatch	Middle left
The scissors hang out there (fr)(nl)	They are liable to cheat you there	Upper left
To always gnaw on a single bone (fr)(nl)	To continually talk about the same subject	Upper left
It depends on the fall of the cards (fr)(nl)	It is up to chance	Upper left
The world is turned upside down (fr)(nl)	Everything is the opposite of what it should be	Upper left
Leave at least one egg in the nest (fr)(nl)	Always have something in reserve	Upper left
To crap on the world (fr)(nl)	To despise everything	Upper left
To lead each other by the nose (fr)(nl)	To fool each other	Upper left
The die is cast (fr)(nl)	The decision is made	Upper left
Fools get the best cards (fr)(nl)	Luck can overcome intelligence	Upper left
To look through one's fingers (fr)(nl)	To turn a blind eye	Upper left
There hangs the knife (fr)(nl)	To issue a challenge	Upper left
There stand the wooden shoes (fr)(nl)	To wait in vain	Upper left
To stick out the broom (fr)(nl)	To have fun while the master is away	Upper left
To marry under the broomstick (fr)(nl)	To live together without marrying	Upper left
To have the roof tiled with tarts (fr)(nl)	To be very wealthy	Upper left
To have a hole in one's roof (fr)(nl)	To be unintelligent	Upper left
An old roof needs a lot of patching up (fr)(nl)	Old things need more maintenance	Upper left
The roof has lathes(fr)(nl)	There could be eavesdroppers (The walls have ears)	Middle left
To have toothache behind the ears(fr)(nl)	To be a malingerer	Middle left
To be pissing against the moon(fr)(nl)	To waste one's time on a futile endeavour	Middle left
Here hangs the pot(fr)(nl)	It is the opposite of what it should be	Middle left
To shoot a second bolt to find the first(fr)(nl)	To repeat a foolish action	Upper left
To shave the fool without lather(fr)(nl)	To trick somebody	Middle
Two fools under one hood(fr)(nl)	Stupidity loves company	Middle
It grows out of the window(fr)(nl)	It cannot be concealed	Middle
To play on the pillory(fr)(nl)	To attract attention to one's shameful acts	Upper Middle
Where the gate is open the pigs will run into the corn(fr)(nl)	Disaster ensues from carelessness	Upper Middle
Where the corn decreases the pig increases	If one person gains then another must lose	Upper Middle
To run like one's backside is on fire(fr)(nl)	To be in great distress	Upper Middle
He who eats fire, craps sparks	Do not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous venture	Upper Middle
To hang one's cloak according to the wind(fr)(nl)	To adapt one's viewpoint to the current opinion	Upper Middle
To toss feathers in the wind (fr)(nl)	To work fruitlessly	Upper Middle
To gaze at the stork(fr)(nl)	To waste one's time	Upper Middle
To want 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
To fall from the ox onto the rear end of an ass(fr)(nl)	To fall on hard times	Upper Middle
To kiss the ring of the door (fr)(nl)	To be obsequious	Upper Middle
To wipe one's backside on the door (fr)(nl)	To treat something lightly	Upper Middle
To go around shouldering a burden (nl)	To imagine that things are worse than they are	Upper Middle
One beggar pities the other standing in front of the door(nl)	Being afraid for competition	Upper Middle
To fish behind the net (fr)(nl)	To miss an opportunity	Middle
Sharks eat smaller fish (fr)(nl)	Anything people say will be put in perspective according to their level of importance	Middle
To be unable to see the sun shine on the water(fr)(nl)	To be jealous of another's success	Middle
It hangs like a privy over a ditch (fr)(nl)	It is obvious	Middle
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
They both crap through the same hole (fr)(nl)	They are in agreement	Middle
To throw one's money into the water(fr)(nl)	To waste one's money	Middle
A wall with cracks will soon collapse(fr)(nl)	Anything poorly managed will soon fail	Middle right
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
To drag the block(fr)(nl)	To be deceived by a lover or to work at a pointless task	Upper right
Fear makes the old woman trot(fr)(nl)	An unexpected event can reveal unknown qualities	Upper right
Horse droppings are not figs (fr)(nl)	Do not be fooled by appearances	Upper right
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
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
Everything, however finely spun, finally comes to the sun(nl)	Nothing can be hidden forever	Upper right
To keep one's eye on the sail(fr)(nl)	To stay alert, be wary	Upper right
To crap on the gallows(fr)(nl)	To be undeterred by any penalty	Upper right
Where the carcass is, there fly the crows(fr)(nl)	If there's something to be gained, everyone hurries in front	Upper right
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
Who knows why geese go barefoot?(fr)(nl)	There is a reason for everything, though it may not be obvious	Upper right
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
To see bears dancing(fr)(nl)	To be starving	Right
Wild bears prefer each other's company(nl)	Peers get along better with each other than with outsiders	Right
To throw one's cowl over the fence(fr)(nl)	To discard something without knowing whether it will be required later	Right
It is ill to swim against the stream(fr)(nl)	It is difficult to oppose the general opinion	Right
The pitcher goes to the water until it finally breaks(fr)(nl)	Everything has its limitations	Right
The broadest straps are cut from someone else's leather (fr)(nl)	One is quick to expend belongings that aren't their own.	Right
To hold an eel by the tail(fr)(nl)	To undertake a difficult task	Right
To fall through the basket(fr)(nl)	To have your deception uncovered	Right
To be suspended between heaven and earth(nl)	To be in an awkward situation	Right
To take the hen's egg and let the goose's egg go(fr)(nl)	To make a bad decision	Right
To yawn against the oven(fr)(nl)	To attempt more than one can manage	Lower right
To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another(fr)(nl)	To have difficulty living within budget	Lower right
A hoe without a handle(fr)(nl)	Probably something useless	Lower right
To look for the hatchet(fr)(nl)	To try to find an excuse	Lower right
Here he is with his lantern(nl)	To finally have an opportunity to show a talent	Lower right
A hatchet with a handle(fr)(nl)	Probably signifies "the whole thing"	Lower right
He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again(fr)(nl)	Once something is done it cannot be undone	Lower right
To put a spoke in someone's wheel(fr)(nl)	To put up an obstacle, to destroy someone's plans	Lower right
Love is on the side where the money bag hangs(fr)(nl)	Love can be bought	Lower right
To pull to get the longest end(fr)(nl)	To attempt to get the advantage	Lower right
To stand in one's own light(nl)	To behave contrarily to one's own happiness or advantage	Lower right
No one looks for others in the oven who has not been in there himself(nl)	To imagine wickedness in others is a sign of wickedness in oneself	Lower right
To have the world spinning on one's thumb(fr)(nl)	To have every advantage	Lower right
To tie a flaxen beard to the face of Christ(fr)(nl)	To hide deceit under a veneer of Christian piety	Lower right
To have to stoop to get on in the world(fr)(nl)	To succeed one must be willing to make sacrifices	Lower right
To cast roses before swine(nl)	To waste effort on the unworthy	Lower middle
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
To be as tame as a lamb(fr)(nl)	Someone who is exceptionally calm or gentle	Lower middle
She puts the blue cloak on her husband(fr)(nl)	She deceives him	Lower middle
Watch out that a black dog does not come in between(fr)(nl)	Mind that things don't go wrong	Lower middle
One winds on the distaff what the other spins(fr)(nl)	Both spread gossip	Lower middle
To carry the day out in baskets(fr)(nl)	To waste one's time	Middle
To hold a candle to the Devil(fr)(nl)	To flatter and make friends indiscriminately	Middle
To confess to the Devil(fr)(nl)	To reveal secrets to one's enemy	Middle
The pig is stabbed through the belly(fr)(nl)	A foregone conclusion or what is done can not be undone	Middle
Two dogs over one bone seldom agree(fr)(nl)	To argue over a single point	Middle
To be a skimming ladle(fr)(nl)	To be a parasite or sponger	Middle
What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it?(fr)(nl)	Beauty does not make up for substance	Middle
The Fox and the Stork dine together(fr)(nl)	Two deceivers always keep their own advantage in mind	Middle
To blow in the ear(fr)(nl)	To spread gossip	Middle
Chalk up a debt(fr)(nl)	To owe someone a favour	Middle
The meat on the spit must be basted(fr)(nl)	Certain things need constant attention	Middle
There is no turning the spit with him(fr)(nl)	He is uncooperative	Middle
To sit on hot coals(fr)(nl)	To be impatient	Middle
To catch fish without a net(fr)(nl)	To profit from the work of others	Middle

References

• Rainer Hagen (2000). Rose-Marie Hagen (ed.). Bruegel: The Complete Paintings. Taschen. p. 96. ISBN 3822859915.
• Patrick De Rynck (1963). How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters. New York: Abrams. p. 379. ISBN 0810955768.
• "The Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Younger". Fleming Museum, University of Vermont. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
• The Netherlandish Proverbs: An International Symposium on the Pieter Brueg(h)els, ed. by Wolfgang Mieder. University of Vermont. 2004.

External links

• The Netherlandish Proverbs, Zoomable and Annotated