The Rich Man Playing Violin on a Jaw Bone (ca. 1568)
Original title: The Rich Man Playing Violin on a Jaw Bone
kurzbeschreibung
A richly dressed man sits on a bone and plays a bassoon-like stringed instrument—this is the engraving by Pieter Bruegel the Elder from around 1568. The print belongs to a series of grotesques in which a moralizing visual idea meets humorous depiction. The copperplate was executed in a circular format.
Description
A man wearing a hat and a fur-trimmed coat has taken his place on a large bone and plays a bassoon-like instrument. Behind him rise the walls and towers of a fortress or castle, suggesting a fortified setting. A circular frame encloses the image, around which Latin and Dutch texts run. The tone of the print is dark and subdued, as is typical of engravings. At the lower edge appears the name Hieronymus Wierix as engraver, while Bruegel is regarded as the inventor of the design.
Context
Created around 1568, the engraving falls into a phase of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's career shaped by his activity in Antwerp and Brussels. It is part of a series of grotesques engraved by Hieronymus Wierix after Bruegel's designs. Such prints often linked moral messages with satirical or comic traits, as was common in sixteenth-century Netherlandish art. The texts in the frame point to a didactic or proverbial meaning and prompted the viewer to reflect.
Impact
Its detailed execution and the contrast between the grotesque motif and the serious fortress architecture shape the impression of the print. The subdued tonality gives it a calm, almost melancholy mood that supports the moralizing message. Humor and instruction join together, making the work a compelling example of sixteenth-century printmaking.
Technique
As an engraving, the drawing was incised into a copperplate and then printed. Fine, precise lines testify to the careful work of the engraver Hieronymus Wierix. The dark, subdued tone results from the density of the lines and the choice of printing ink, as is characteristic of this process.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)