Peasant Wedding

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was a Flemish painter belonging to the Brueghel dynasty of painters.

The main distinction of this artist is his series of landscapes and genre paintings that focused on peasant life. It is a known fact that Pieter Bruegel the Elder would often dress up like a peasant and mingle around with peasant folk so as to gain insight on their lifestyle which served as inspiration for his genre oil paintings. This painting entitled, Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is styled after the Northern Renaissance and categorized as Café Dining. Like many of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's oil paintings this particular painting makes use of bright colors and depicts a story, involving several subtle scenes within a larger scene.

At first glance we take note of the large scene which involves a large dining affair among peasants.

Taking a closer look we notice that on the left side of the painting a group of peasants are standing and waiting to be seated.

 Panning to the right side of the oil painting we take note of peasants in conversation and the movement of two servers as they carry a plank of wood and diners picking up their plates as the plank of wood moves along. The dining hall is rather simple and there is no sophisticated dress among the figures which reflects peasant life. Within the simplicity however is the complex relationships that can be noticed between diners, it seems like a large family gathering, akin to an Italian dining experience. This can be construed as the experience being that of a wedding rather than a regular dining event as suggested by the title of the painting.