The reception of Bruegel's 'Beekeepers': a matter of choice - Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The enigmatic content of Pieter Bruegel's Beekeepers is examined in the context of the politico-religious conflict in the Spanish Netherlands during the late 1560s. The meaning of this drawing is revealed as deliberately ambiguous because it is addressed to antagonistic groups of viewers: the Inquisition and Protestants. Bruegel manipulates the dual reception of his work by using an overt and a covert content. Although the artist must have been a bona fide Catholic, fulfilling obligations required by the Roman Church, he expresses in the Beekeepers a veiled condemnation of activities associated with the Inquisition and an even more negative view toward acceptance of Protestantism.

COPYRIGHT 1991 College Art Association
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