Netherlandish Proverbs

Netherlandish Proverbs (Dutch:

Netherlandish Proverbs
Nederlandse Spreekwoorden; also
called Flemish Proverbs, The Blue
Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) is a
1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by
Pieter Bruegel the Elder that depicts a
scene in which humans and, to a lesser
extent, animals and objects, offer literal
illustrations of Dutch-language
proverbs and idioms.

Running themes in Bruegel's paintings

that appear in Netherlandish Proverbs
are the absurdity, wickedness and
foolishness of humans. Its original title,
The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the
World, indicates that Bruegel's intent
was not just to illustrate proverbs, but Artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder
rather to catalogue human folly. Many Year 1559
of the people depicted show the
Medium Oil-on-panel
characteristic blank features that
Bruegel used to portray fools.[1] Dimensions 117 cm × 163 cm (46 in × 64 in)
Location Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger,
specialised in making copies of his father's work and painted at least 16 copies of Netherlandish
Proverbs.[2] Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs and they also
differ in other minor details.

Contents
History
Context
The painting
Proverbs and idioms
List of proverbs and idioms featured in the painting
Inspiration for other paintings
In popular culture
Gallery
Notes
Footnotes
References
Further reading
External links

History

Context

Proverbs were very popular in Bruegel's time and before; a hundred years before Bruegel's painting,
illustrations of proverbs had been popular in the Flemish books of hours.[3] A number of collections were
published, including Adagia, by the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus.[4] The French writer François
Rabelais employed significant numbers in his novel Gargantua and Pantagruel, completed in 1564.[5]

The Flemish artist Frans Hogenberg made an engraving illustrating 43 proverbs in around 1558, roughly
the same time as Bruegel's painting.[6][7] The work is very similar in composition to Bruegel's and includes
certain proverbs (like the Blue Cloak) which also feature prominently in Netherlandish Proverbs.[7] By
depicting literal renditions of proverbs in a peasant setting, both artists have shown a "world turned upside
down".[7]

Bruegel himself had painted several minor paintings on the subject of proverbs including Big Fish Eat Little
Fish (1556) and Twelve Proverbs (1558), but Netherlandish Proverbs is thought to have been his first
large-scale painting on the theme.

The painting
The painting, dated 1559, is considered the best of a series of similar paintings which at one time or other
have all previously been attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, has been x-rayed for its underdrawing to
compare it to other versions. None of the versions have a provenance going back further than the late 19th-
century, but Brueghel scholars believe that the paintings are the elder Bruegel's inventions, which all make
use of a life-size cartoon with the same underdrawing as that used in the Berlin version.[8] The paintings,
which are not inscribed, tease the viewer into guessing proverbs. They are based on 1558 and earlier
engravings that are inscribed, in Flemish. The most notable of these regarding the paintings is by Frans
Hogenberg, and it is dated 1558 and accompanied by the title Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt, maer
des weerelts abvisen he beter betaempt (English: Often called 'The Blue Cloak', this could better be called
'The World's Follies'). The Doetecum brothers produced a print series in 1577 called De Blauwe Huyck.
Theodoor Galle also made a print, dated later, with a similar title: Dese wtbeeldinghe wort die blauw hvyck
genaemt, maer deze werelts abvysen haer beter betaemt.[9]

Proverbs and idioms

Critics have praised the composition for its ordered portrayal and integrated scene.[7] There are
approximately 126 identifiable proverbs and idioms in the scene, although Bruegel may have included
others which cannot be determined because of the language change. Some of those incorporated in the
painting are still in popular use, for instance "Swimming against the tide", "Banging one's head against a
brick wall" and "Armed to the teeth". Many more have faded from use, which makes analysis of the
painting harder. "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
(1567).
The Blue Cloak, the piece's original title, features in the centre of the piece and is being placed on a man by
his wife, indicating that she is cuckolding him. Other proverbs indicate human 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 sitting 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 may also represent the advice
"Shear them but don't skin them", meaning make the most of available assets.

List of proverbs and idioms featured in the painting

 Expressions featured in the painting[10][11]
Proverb/idiom Meaning Area Image

To be able to tie even the devil to Lower

001 Obstinacy overcomes everything
a pillow (fr) (nl) left

(fr) (nl) (it) (lmo) Lower

002 To be a pillar-biter To be a religious hypocrite
left

Never believe someone who

Lower
003 carries fire in one hand and water To be two-faced and to stir up trouble
left
in the other (fr) (nl)

To bang one's head against a brick To waste one's time on an Lower

004
wall (fr) (nl) impossible task left

One foot shod, the other bare (fr) Lower

005 (nl) Balance is paramount
left

(fr) (nl) Negligence will be rewarded with Lower

006 The sow pulls the bung
disaster left

007 To bell the cat (fr) (nl) To carry out a dangerous or Lower
impractical plan left
 (fr) (nl) Lower
008 To be armed to the teeth To be heavily armed
left

(fr) (nl) Lower

009 To put your armor on To be angry
left

One shears sheep, the other One has all the advantages, the Lower
010
shears pigs (fr) (nl) other none left

Shear them but do not skin them Lower

011 (fr) (nl) Do not press your advantage too far
left

(nl) Lower
012 The herring does not fry here It's not going according to plan
left

To fry the whole herring for the Lower

013 To do too much to achieve a little
sake of the roe (fr) (nl) left

(nl) Lower
014 To get the lid on the head To end up taking responsibility
left

015 The herring hangs by its own gills You must accept responsibility for Lower
(fr) (nl) your own actions left
 There is more in it than an empty There is more to it than meets the Lower
016
herring (nl) eye left

What can smoke do to iron? (fr) There is no point in trying to change Lower
017 (nl) the unchangeable left

(fr) (nl) To arrive too late for dinner and find Lower
018 To find the dog in the pot all the food has been eaten left[note 1]

To sit between two stools in the Lower

019 To be indecisive
ashes (fr) (nl) left

To be very miserly (feeling whether

(fr) (nl) Middle
020 To be a hen feeler the hen is about to lay an egg before
left
slaughtering it)

The scissors hang out there (fr) Upper

021 (nl) They are liable to cheat you there
left

022 To always gnaw on a single bone To continually talk about the same Upper
(fr) (nl) subject left
 It depends on the fall of the cards Upper
023 (fr) (nl) It is up to chance
left

The world is turned upside down Everything is the opposite of what it Upper
024 (fr) (nl) should be left

Leave at least one egg in the nest Upper

025 (fr) (nl) Always have something in reserve
left

(fr) (nl) Upper

026 To crap on the world To despise everything
left

To lead each other by the nose Upper

027 (fr) (nl) To fool each other
left

(fr) (nl) Upper

028 The die is cast The decision is made
left

(fr) (nl) Upper

029 Fools get the best cards Luck can overcome intelligence
left

To look through one's fingers (fr) Upper

030 (nl) To turn a blind eye
left

031 There hangs the knife (fr) (nl) To issue a challenge Upper
left
 There stand the wooden shoes Upper
032 (fr) (nl) To wait in vain
left

(fr) (nl) Upper

033 To stick out the broom To have fun while the master is away
left

To marry under the broomstick Upper

034 (fr) (nl) To live together without marrying
left

To have the roof tiled with tarts Upper

035 (fr) (nl) To be very wealthy
left

(fr) (nl) Upper

036 To have a hole in one's roof To be unintelligent
left

An old roof needs a lot of patching Upper

037 Old things need more maintenance
up (fr) (nl) left

There could be eavesdroppers (The Middle

038 The roof has laths (fr) (nl)
walls have ears) left

To have toothache behind the Middle

039 To be a malingerer
ears (fr) (nl) left

040 To be pissing against the To waste one's time on a futile Middle

 moon (fr) (nl) endeavour left

Middle
041 Here hangs the pot (fr) (nl) It is the opposite of what it should be
left

To shoot a second bolt to find the Upper

042 To repeat a foolish action
first (fr) (nl) left

To shave the fool without

043 To trick somebody Middle
lather (fr) (nl)

044 Two fools under one hood (fr) (nl) Stupidity loves company Middle

045 It grows out of the window (fr) (nl) It cannot be concealed Middle

To attract attention to one's shameful Upper

046 To play on the pillory (fr) (nl)
acts middle

When the gate is open the pigs Upper

047 Disaster ensues from carelessness
will run into the corn (fr) (nl) middle
048 When the corn decreases the pig If one person gains then another Upper
increases must lose middle

To run like one's backside is on Upper

049 To be in great distress
fire (fr) (nl) middle

Do not be surprised at the outcome if Upper

050 He who eats fire, craps sparks
you attempt a dangerous venture middle

To hang one's cloak according to To adapt one's viewpoint to the Upper

051
the wind (fr) (nl) current opinion middle

To toss feathers in the wind (fr) Upper

052 (nl) To work fruitlessly
middle

Upper
053 To gaze at the stork (fr) (nl) To waste one's time
middle

To try to kill two flies with one To be efficient (equivalent to today's Upper
054
stroke (fr) (nl) To kill two birds with one stone) middle

To fall from the ox onto the rear Upper

055 To fall on hard times
end of an ass (fr) (nl) middle

(fr) (nl) Upper

056 To kiss the ring of the door To be obsequious
middle

057 To wipe one's backside on the To treat something lightly Upper

door (nl) middle
 To go around shouldering a burden To imagine that things are worse Upper
058 (fr) (nl) than they are middle

One beggar pities the other Upper

059 Being afraid for competition
standing in front of the door (nl) middle

060 To fish behind the net (fr) (nl) To miss an opportunity Middle

Anything people say will be put in

061 Sharks eat smaller fish (fr) (nl) perspective according to their level Middle
of importance

To be unable to see the sun shine

062 To be jealous of another's success Middle
on the water (fr) (nl)

It hangs like a privy over a ditch

063 (fr) (nl) It is obvious Middle

064 Anybody can see through an oak There is no point in stating the Middle
plank if there is a hole in it (fr) (nl) obvious
 They both crap through the same
065 They are inseparable comrades Middle
hole (fr) (nl)

To throw one's money into the

066 To waste one's money Middle
water (fr) (nl)

A wall with cracks will soon Anything poorly managed will soon Middle
067
collapse (fr) (nl) fail right

To not care whose house is on fire

To take every opportunity regardless Middle
068 as long as one can warm oneself
of the consequences to others right
at the blaze (fr) (nl)

To be deceived by a lover or to work Upper

069 To drag the block (fr) (nl)
at a pointless task right

Fear makes the old woman An unexpected event can reveal Upper
070
trot (fr) (nl) unknown qualities right

071 Horse droppings are not figs (fr) Do not be fooled by appearances Upper
(nl) right
 If the blind lead the blind both will There is no point in being guided by Upper
072
fall in the ditch (fr) (nl) others who are equally ignorant right

The journey is not yet over when

Do not give up until the task is fully Upper
073 one can discern the church and
complete right
steeple (fr) (nl)

Everything, however finely spun, Upper

074 Nothing can be hidden forever
finally comes to the sun (nl) right

To keep one's eye on the sail (fr) Upper

075 (nl) To stay alert, be wary
right

Upper
076 To crap on the gallows (fr) (nl) To be undeterred by any penalty
right

Where the carcass is, there fly the If there's something to be gained, Upper
077
crows (fr) (nl) everyone hurries in front right

It is easy to sail before the If conditions are favourable it is not Upper

078
wind (fr) (nl) difficult to achieve one's goal right

Who knows why geese go There is a reason for everything, Upper

079
barefoot? (fr) (nl) though it may not be obvious right

If I am not meant to be their Do not interfere in matters that are Upper

080
keeper, I will let geese be geese not your concern right

081 To see bears dancing[note 2] (fr) (nl) To be starving Right

 Wild bears prefer each other's Peers get along better with each
082 Right
company[note 2] (nl) other than with outsiders

To discard something without

To throw one's cowl over the
083 knowing whether it will be required Right
fence (fr) (nl) later

It is ill to swim against the It is difficult to oppose the general

084 Right
current (fr) (nl) opinion

The pitcher goes to the water until

085 Everything has its limitations Right
it finally breaks (fr) (nl)

The broadest straps are cut from

086 One is quick to another's money. Right
someone else's leather (fr) (nl)

To undertake a difficult task

087 To hold an eel by the tail (fr) (nl) (Compare: "Catch a tiger by the tail")
Right

088 To fall through the basket (fr) (nl) To have your deception uncovered Right

To be suspended between heaven

089 To be in an awkward situation Right
and earth (fr) (nl)

090 To keep the hen's egg and let the To make a bad decision Right
 goose's egg go (fr) (nl)

To attempt more than one can Lower

091 To yawn against the oven (fr) (nl) manage right

To be barely able to reach from Lower

092 To have difficulty living within budget
one loaf to another (fr) (nl) right

Lower
093 A hoe without a handle (fr) (nl) Probably something useless[note 3]
right

Lower
094 To look for the hatchet (fr) (nl) To try to find an excuse
right

To finally have an opportunity to Lower

095 Here he is with his lantern (fr) (nl)
show a talent right

Probably signifies "the whole Lower

096 A hatchet with a handle (fr) (nl)
thing"[note 3] right

He who has spilt his porridge Once something is done it cannot be

Lower
097 undone (Compare: "Don't cry over
cannot scrape it all up again (fr) (nl) right
spilt milk")

To put a spoke through someone's To put up an obstacle, to destroy Lower

098
wheel (fr) (nl) someone's plans right

099 Love is on the side where the Love can be bought Lower
money bag hangs (fr) (nl) right
 To pull to get the longest end (fr) Lower
100 (nl) To attempt to get the advantage
right

To behave contrarily to one's own Lower

101 To stand in one's own light (fr) (nl) happiness or advantage right

No one looks for others in the

To imagine wickedness in others is a Lower
102 oven who has not been in there
sign of wickedness in oneself right
himself (fr) (nl)

To have every advantage (Compare:

To have the world spinning on Lower
103 "To have the world in the palm of
one's thumb (fr) (nl) your hand")
right

To tie a flaxen beard to the face of To hide deceit under a veneer of Lower
104
Christ (fr) (nl) Christian piety right

To have to stoop to get on in the To succeed one must be willing to Lower

105
world (fr) (nl) make sacrifices right

106 To cast roses before swine (fr) (nl) To waste effort on the unworthy Lower
middle

To fill the well after the calf has
107
already drowned (fr) (nl)
To take action only after a disaster
Lower
(Compare: "Shutting the barn door
after the horse has bolted")
middle

Someone who is exceptionally calm Lower

108 To be as gentle as a lamb (fr) (nl) or gentle middle

She puts the blue cloak on her Lower

109 She deceives him
husband (fr) (nl) middle

Watch out that a black dog does Lower

110 Mind that things don't go wrong
not come in between (fr) (nl) middle

One winds on the distaff what the Lower

111 Both spread gossip
other spins (fr) (nl) middle

To waste one's time (Compare: "to

To carry the day out in
112 carry coals to Newcastle" and "to Middle
baskets (fr) (nl) sell sand in the desert")

113 To hold a candle to the Devil (fr) To flatter and make friends Middle
(nl) indiscriminately
114 To confess to the Devil (fr) (nl) To reveal secrets to one's enemy Middle

The pig is stabbed through the A foregone conclusion or what is

115 Middle
belly (fr) (nl) done can not be undone

Two dogs over one bone seldom

116 To argue over a single point Middle
agree (fr) (nl)

When two dogs fight out who gets

117 the bone,the third one steals it (fr) Self-explanatory Middle
(nl)

118 To be a skimming ladle (fr) (nl) To be a parasite or sponger Middle

What is the good of a beautiful

Beauty does not make up for
119 plate when there is nothing on it? Middle
(fr) (nl) substance

The Fox and the Stork or The Fox If you trick someone they might get
120 Middle
and the Crane dine together (fr) (nl) back at you[note 4]
 121 To blow in the ear (fr) (nl) To spread gossip Middle

122 Chalk up a debt (fr) (nl) To owe someone a favour Middle

The meat on the spit must be Certain things need constant

123 Middle
basted (fr) (nl) attention

There is no turning the spit with

124 He is uncooperative Middle
him (fr) (nl)

125 To sit on hot coals (fr) (nl) To be impatient Middle

126 To catch fish without a net (fr) (nl) To profit from the work of others Middle

Inspiration for other paintings

T. E. Breitenbach's 1975 painting Proverbidioms was inspired by this Dutch painting to depict English
proverbs and idioms.

A 2014 illustration from the Hong Kong magazine Passion Times illustrates dozens of Cantonese
proverbs.[12][13]

In popular culture
The painting is featured on the album cover of Fleet Foxes self-titled first full-length album (2008).

Gallery


Gemäldegalerie, Rockox House, Private collection Frans Hals Museum,

Berlin Antwerp Haarlem

Noord Stedelijk Museum

Brabantsmuseum, Wuyts-Van Campen
Den Bosch en Baron Caroly,
Lier

Notes
1. The lighting makes it almost impossible to make out the dog.
2. The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.
3. The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.
4. This proverb derives from Aesop's Fables The Fox and the Crane.

Footnotes
1. "Pieter Bruegel" (http://www.aparences.net/periodes/la-renaissance-nordique/pieter-bruege
l/). APARENCES. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
2. Wisse, Jacob. "Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525/30–1569)" (http://www.metmuseum.org/to
ah/hd/brue/hd_brue.htm). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Retrieved 11 August 2013.
3. Rudy, Kathryn M. (2007). "Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and the Borders of a Flemish
Book of Hours". In Biemans, Jos; et al. (eds.). Manuscripten en miniaturen: Studies
aangeboden aan Anne S. Korteweg bij haar afscheid van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek (https://
www.academia.edu/636397). Zutphen: Walburg. ISBN 9789057304712.
4. Erasmus, Desiderius. Adagia (http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/Dutch/Latijn/ErasmusAdagia.html)
(Leiden 1700 ed.). University of Leiden: Department of Dutch language and literature.
 5. O'Kane, Eleanor (1950). "The Proverb: Rabelais and Cervantes". Comparative Literature. 2
(4): 360–369. doi:10.2307/1768392 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1768392). JSTOR 1768392
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/1768392).
6. Lebeer, L. (1939–40). "De Blauwe Huyck". Gentsche Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis. 6:
161–229.
7. "Die blau huicke is dit meest ghenaemt / Maer des weerelts abuisen het beter betaempt" (htt
p://www.teeuwisse.de/catalogues/selected-prints-vii/die-blau-huicke-is-dit-meest-ghenaemt-
maer-des-weerelts-abuisen-het-beter-betaempt.html). Prints. Nicolaas Teeuwisse. Retrieved
11 August 2013.
8. Breughel Enterprises (https://hnanews.org/hnar/reviews/brueghel-enterprises/), 2001-2002
exhibition on the work of Pieter Brueghel II's copies after his father's works, Historians of
Netherlandish Art review
9. C. C. Barfoot and Richard Todd, The Great Emporium: the Low Countries as a cultural
crossroads in the Renaissance and the eighteenth century (1992), p. 128; Google Books (htt
ps://books.google.nl/books?id=6Efwrjmp9iwC&pg=PA128).
10. Hagen 2000, pp. 36–37.
11. "Spreekwoorden" (https://www.literatuurgeschiedenis.org/16e-eeuw/spreekwoorden).
Middeleeuwen. Literatuurgeschiedenis.org. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
熱血時報 大粵港諺語 阿塗 專欄部落
12. " - - - " (http://www.passiontimes.hk/article/02-24-2014/88
99/). passiontimes.hk.
13. "Cantonese Proverbs in One Picture" (https://writecantonese8.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/c
antonese-proverbs-in-one-picture/). 廣府話小研究 Cantonese Resources. 25 February 2014.

References
Hagen, Rainer (2000). Hagen, Rose-Marie (ed.). Bruegel: The Complete Paintings.
Taschen. ISBN 3822859915.
De Rynck, Patrick (1963). How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters. New
York: Abrams. ISBN 0810955768.
"The Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Younger" (http://www.uvm.edu/~flemin
g/index.php?category=exhibitions&page=netherlandish). Fleming Museum, University of
Vermont. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
Mieder, Wolfgang (2004). "The Netherlandish Proverbs: An International Symposium on the
Pieter Brueg(h)els". University of Vermont.
Dundes, Alan and Claudia A. Stibbe (1981). The Art of Mixing Metaphors: A Folkloristic
Interpretation of the Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Helsinki:
Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia Academia Scientiarum Fennica. ISBN 9514104242.

Further reading
Orenstein, Nadine M., ed. (2001). Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints (http://libmm
a.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/97318). The
Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870999901.

External links
Bruegel's The Dutch Proverbs (https://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bruegel-the-dutch-prov
erbs.html), Smarthistory video, commentary by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker
 The Netherlandish Proverbs, Zoomable and Annotated (http://s3.imagediver.org/topic/album/
cg/The_Dutch_Proverbs/1/index.html)
Interactive mobile/responsive version of The Netherlandish Proverbs (http://bruegel.analog.i
s/)

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