Two Peasants Binding Firewood
Antwerp, about 1604-16
Oil on panel
36.2 x 27.3 cm
A woodland clearing during winter or early spring, perhaps February or March. Two men tie a bundle of firewood, while in the background a third man chops branches from a tree. Are these innocent, hardworking woodsmen, or thieving, opportunistic rogues? Their abandoned belongings and sideways glances indicate furtive behaviour. The thin man’s bandaged head probably relates to the Netherlandish proverb, ‘To have toothache behind the ears’, meaning to deceive or to be a malingerer. Another proverb, ‘When the tree is felled, everyone gathers the firewood’, referencing the greed of opportunists, may also be illustrated here. The way this work is painted is typical of Brueghel’s direct copies from his father. The Elder Bruegel’s prototype, however, if one did exist, is now lost.
Purchased 1944 (No.44.11)
