An Examination of Peter Bruegel the Elder`s Man of War between

An Examination of
Peter Bruegel the Elder’s
Man of War between Two Galleys
with the Fall of Phaeton
Jennifer Weiler
April 26, 2011
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my teacher, Jane Peters, without whom this paper would not be
what it is today. I would also like the thank Liz Schaller and Hunter Stoll, who took the
time to give many useful comments. Lastly, I would like to thank my mother and father
for their endless support and encouragement.
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In the mid sixteenth century, Peter Bruegel the Elder (1525—1569) became
famous in the European art market for his creative and original print designs. Based out
of Antwerp, Bruegel’s publisher, Hieronymus Cock (1510—1570), sold copies of his
prints to upper-middle class patrons throughout Europe.1 During Bruegel’s relatively
short career, which was brought to a premature end due to his death at the age of forty
four, he created prints that ranged widely in subject matter yet always contained a unique
ability to represent complex social concerns in seemingly straightforward images. Of
these, one source of interest that Bruegel had depicted throughout his creative life was
images of the sea and the ships that sailed upon it. This culminated in the creation of
several prints of ships that were sold in multiple copies throughout Antwerp and Europe.2
This essay will attempt to explore one of these prints by Bruegel, titled Man of War
between Two Galleys with the Fall of Phaeton (see fig. 1), which contains a contrast of
naturalistic depiction of shipping vessels with a mythological scene. This unique
combination was employed by Bruegel to create an image that would appeal to the
growing segment of buyers who were interested in both contemporary exploration and
ancient literature.
For the first half of the sixteenth century, the region of Flanders, particularly the
city of Antwerp, experienced an economic boom from trading and shipping. Because of
its key position on the river Scheldt that linked it directly to the North Sea, Antwerp was
a crossroads of goods and people traveling between southern and northern Europe.3 This
economic opportunity allowed for the formation of a middle class founded on commerce,
which in turn created a larger market for prints like the ones produced by Bruegel. Unlike
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paintings, which were expensive to create and difficult to mass produce, prints were
affordable to burgeoning middle class.4 This large number of potential consumers
allowed Bruegel to experiment with different subject matter in his prints, and one of his
new subjects were majestic ships at sea. At the time, the Flemish people were the
foremost ship builders and operators of Europe, leading to a sense of Netherlandish pride
in the stately vessels.5 Therefore, it would seem of little surprise that the print Man of
War between Two Galleys with the Fall of Phaeton, in which grand ships play a
prominent role, would immediately appeal to the merchants of Antwerp.
Upon first inspection, Bruegel’s print appears to be both a visual record and
celebration of contemporary ships, which fill out the majority of the print. A large ship,
identified as a man or war, is set central in the composition, several stories tall, which
thins out as the sides of the boat raise out of the water. The man of war is viewed from
the back, and on both sides the tips of canons are visible peaking out of the sides of the
boat. This does not, however, mean that this was a military vessel, since during the 16th
century many merchant ships carried artillery for safety, and the difference between a
military and civilian vessel were often unclear. The ship’s mast rises out of the center of
the boat, and its five sails are full and pushed to the left, showing that a strong wind is
blowing. The man of war is flanked by two smaller galleys positioned in the foreground.
These two galleys are of identical design and are propelled by rows of oars which are
visible coming out of both sides of the boats. In addition, each ship has a one large,
triangle shaped sail that together serve to visually frame the central boat.
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Peter Bruegel was one of the few artists creating prints of naturalistic depictions
of ships during the 16th century, and he likely based the each of the ships in his print on
individual sketches of actual boats. Bruegel could easily have made sketches of the ships
that docked near Antwerp, where large merchant vessels like the man of war would have
been a regular sight. The galleys, on the other hand, would have been more common in
the Mediterranean, but could have been viewed by Bruegel during his extended trip to
Italy during the early 1550s.6 In the print, each of the ships’ sails are blowing in different
directions, with the man of war appearing to be strongly pushed to the left while the
galleys are being blown to the right. This gives the overall image a vibrant, powerful feel,
but also belies the fact that each ship was probably taken from a different sketch and then
placed together into the print. This is also supported by the fact that the perspective of the
sea seems to rise upwards away from the viewer, likely caused by the fact that Bruegel
did not correct the perspective of the boats when he put them into the seascape.
At first glance, Bruegel’s inclusion of a mythological narrative seems totally
unrelated to the majestic merchant vessels that sail below. The Fall of Phaeton
(alternately spelled Phaethon) refers to a story from Greek and Roman mythology that
serves as a warning against pride and over-ambition. In the story, Phaeton desires to
prove to the world that his father is in fact the sun god Apollo. In order to do so, Phaeton
travels to the home of his father, where Apollo admits that Phaeton is his son and
promises to give him anything he asks for in order to prove the divine paternity. Phaeton
requests to drive Apollo’s chariot (the sun) for one day, and, after warning his son of the
danger multiple times, Apollo finally gives in to Phaeton’s adamant demands and allows
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him to drive the chariot. Phaeton, however, is unable to control the fiery horses that drew
the chariot, and wild movements of the sun result in pain and suffering for the people on
Earth. The chaos is only stopped when Zeus, god of the sky and ruler of all the Olympian
gods, strikes the chariot with a lighting bolt, causing Phaeton to fall to his death in a river
below.7
In his depiction of the narrative, Bruegel chose to portray the dramatic moment
when Phaeton tumbles from the chariot, which appears to the immediate upper right of
the top of the man of war’s mast. The sense of energy and movement portrayed in
Phaeton’s fall is complemented by the four horses storming away across the sky, the
reigns that attached them to the sleigh and its rider now broken. Other figures, such as
Zeus wielding his thunderbolt, and the frowning face of Apollo in the sun, are also
included, perhaps to allow the viewer to remember all the details of the story. In addition
to these well-known figures, Bruegel also chose to include the figure of King Cycnus,
who, upon seeing the demise of Phaeton, wept and lingered on a riverbank until he was
turned into a melodic voiced swan (Ovid Metamorphoses 2:444—490).8 Cycnus, in the
form of a human faced swan, is visible floating on the ocean in the central bottom of the
print, showing that Breugel was aware of specific details of the Fall of Phaeton.
Furthermore, Bruegel must have had reason to assume that his audience was familiar
enough with the story to be able to correctly interpret the presence of the bird. Indeed,
records seem to indicate that the buyers of Bruegel’s prints were fascinated by and often
well acquainted with stories of Greek and Roman mythology in addition to biblical and
native Netherlandish folktales. This group, known as the “mediocriter literati” consisted
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of middle and upper middle class city dwellers of Northern Europe. Although they were
not fluent in Latin of Greek (the language in which most ancient mythological stories
were recorded) they were eager to read translations of the works and were versed in the
details of the subject matter.9 In fact, because Phaeton was part of Ovid’s Metamorphoses,
one of the most popular and reproduced ancient works of the time, the Fall of Phaeton
would also have been familiar to many of the laypersons of the Netherlands. The story
was occasionally used as a reference by the local acting troops of Antwerp, known as the
rederijkers, in their theater festivals and outdoor celebrations. In one instance, in the
Haagspel theater festival in 1561, the story of Phaeton was alluded to in a warning
against excess: “don’t aspire above your powers…think also of Icarus’s fall, of Phaeton’s
fire.”10 The rederijkers, therefore, must have been familiar with the story of Phaeton and
strongly assume that their public audience would have easily understood the allusion as
well.
This growing fascination with ancient literature was linked both to the growing
prosperity of the Netherlands, which made available the capital to buy books and the free
time to read them, but was also connected to the influence of the Italian Renaissance on
Northern Europe. The Italian Renaissance, which centered on a renewed interest in
ancient texts, stories, and ideas, began about a century before the time of Bruegel. By the
early16th century, these same interests had invaded the intellectual discourses of Northern
philosophers, which, in turn, spurred the translating and reading of ancient Roman stories
into Northern dialects.11 In addition, even if they did not adopt an Italian style, many
Netherlandish artists had often traveled to Italy to study art, literature, and architecture if
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they had the financial means.12 During this time, motifs of ancient Roman and Greek
stories because increasingly popular metaphorical tools which artists could use under the
safe assumption that their audience would be able to correctly interpret them. The Fall of
Phaeton was also depicted by Bruegel’s contemporaries, including the Frans Floris
(1517—1570). Although Floris’s depiction of Phaeton (see fig. 2) is quite different in
Bruegel’s in terms of composition and drawing style, the basic identifiers of the story,
including the flying chariot and Zeus wielding his lightening bolt, are still present.
Flemish viewers of the images, therefore, must have been familiar enough with the story
of Phaeton to be able to interpret the scene based on a few key figures even when the
overall composition and depiction of the story was not standard between artists.
While this print is Bruegel’s only known depiction of the Fall of Phaeton, he did
do several prints and paintings focusing on the story of the Fall of Icarus. Like Phaeton,
the story of the Fall of Icarus comes from Roman mythology. Icarus, along with his
inventor father Daedalus, was imprisoned on the island of Crete. In order to escape,
Daedalus constructed wings held together by wax, with which he and Icarus could fly off
the island. Before they took off, Daedalus warned Icarus to fly neither too close to the sun,
which would melt the wax binding the wings, nor too close to the sea, which would make
the wings soggy. Icarus, however, enthralled by the thrill of flying, rose too high in the
sky, only to have his wings met and crash to his death in the ocean.13 As Ethan Kavaler
notes in his book, Pieter Bruegel Parables of Order and Enterprise, “both Icarus and
Phaeton disregarded the advice from their fathers to maintain a middle way and promptly
fell from the heavens.” Because of this similarity, the stories of both Icarus and Phaeton
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had become closely associated with the folly of hubris and were used as a warning of
what happens when one attempts to rise above one’s proper station.14
Bruegel’s awareness of the similarity between the two stories in made clear by his
design for Man of War Sailing to the Right; above, the Fall of Icarus (see fig. 3), another
print from the same series as Man of War between Two Galleys with the Fall of Phaeton.
Like Phaeton, this print also contrasts a naturalistic depiction of a mercantile vessel with
a mythological scene. In it, Icarus is drawn close to the sun and has just begun his tumble
from the sky. The audience is left to infer the death he will face in the waters below. In
both prints, the sun plays a prominent role, both as the chariot that Phaeton falls from and
the source of the heat that melts Icarus’s wings. In addition, Bruegel underlines the
similarity between the two characters by depicting them in the exact same position. Both
Phaeton and Icarus appear falling head first, their right arm bent around their head and
their left arm held straight near the side of their torso. The two mythological figures are
also similar in the fact that they were included in Bruegel’s scenes of ships series. Of the
nine prints of ships Bruegel is known to have produced only three contained
mythological scenes.15 The fact that of all the ancient and contemporary literary figures,
Bruegel chose for two of these prints to use the similar stories of Phaeton and Icarus
would suggest that he believed the message of those stories would have been particularly
relevant to his audience.
The dangers of desire and social mobility, and their resulting erosion of spiritual
values, had already become common subject matter of other Netherlandish artists in the
half century before Breugel rose to prominence.16 The popularity of these works may
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have been spurred by the burgeoning capitalism in Antwerp, which was quickly creating
a town-dwelling merchant class, a type of people unknown to medieval Europe. Unused
to their own material success and uncomfortable with their place in society, the
successful citizens of the Netherlands may have desired a physical reminder of the need
for balance and temperance in good living.17 Bruegel also seemed to feel somewhat
antagonistic to the economic changes that were occurring in Northern Europe. During his
lifetime, he had critiqued the burgeoning capitalism of Antwerp in several of his prints,
most obviously in The Fight of the Money-Bags and Strong-Boxes (see fig. 4), a satirical
depiction of the contemporary ‘battle’ for money that was occurring in commercial
exchange. By depicting the fight for money in the same way that the battles of knights
had been depicted during the medieval period, Bruegel ridicules and belittles the desire
for money compared to the desire for honor and justice that had been the motivation of
medieval knights.18
In a similar fashion, another of Bruegel’s depictions of Icarus, his famous painting,
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (see fig. 5), also reflects this same theme. Unlike his
print of the Fall of Icarus, in the painting Icarus is only a small figure, already half
submerged beneath the waves. The foreground of the work is taken up by a plowman
who dutifully plows the field seemingly without having noticed Icarus’s demise. Through
this composition, Bruegel seems to portray that the prideful Icarus, who tried to attain too
great a height, crashed and was forgotten, while the plowman who works hard and does
not attempt to rise above his proper station lives in contentment.19
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A warning may be also found in Bruegel’s Man of War between Two Galleys with
the Fall of Phaeton. Like the mythological Phaeton, the merchant ships are plagued by
danger, which is physically manifested in the form of the jagged rocks that are placed in
the left corner of the print. Furthermore, the print may present a spiritual warning about
challenge of maintaining a moral life in the presence of a corrupting, money-based
economic system. Bruegel’s patrons were part of the first generation of capitalists to
emerge strongly in Europe for nearly 1000 years, and were finding success in enterprises
that were seen as morally ambiguous during the Middle Ages.20 Just as the ships can
safely traverse the ocean only by maintaining a steady course, the merchants and
tradesman sought a balanced life in order to avoid economic or spiritual catastrophe. As
opposed to aspiring for the quick glory of Phaeton, the vessels that sail below seek
success by sustaining a balanced, straight course, an important lesson that could be
understood and appreciated by the purchasers of Bruegel’s prints.
In Man of War between Two Galleys with the Fall of Phaeton, Peter Bruegel has
crafted a work that can serve as a detailed record of contemporary nautical triumph as
well as a subtle rendering of a mythological moral. At first glance, his meticulous
depictions of merchant vessels appear as a visual record and celebration of the
accomplishments of commerce. However, because of the inclusion of the Fall of Phaeton,
the print also may serve to warn those who seek to rise above their proper station in life
that immoderation can only result in destruction. To the customers of Bruegel’s prints,
who were well read in both ancient and modern literature, and who were concerned with
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both modernity and morality, the print would have served as both a celebration of modern
achievements and a reminder to live a balanced life.
Art Bibliography
Fig. 1 Peter Bruegel
Man of War Seen between Two Galleys, with the Fall of Phaethon
c. 1564 (exact date of drawing unknown)
Engraving
22.3 x 27.8cm; 8.78 x 10.94in
Leningrad Collection
Fig. 4 Peter Bruegel the Elder, The Fight
of the Money-Bags and StrongBoxes, engraving, 1567
Fig. 2 Frans Floris, The Fall of Phaeton,
pen and brown wash, 23.7 cm x
22.2 cm, Everhand Jabach
collection
Fig.
Fig. 3 Peter Bruegel the Elder, Man of
War Sailing to the Right; above,
the Fall of Icarus, engraving,
22.7 cm x 28.6 cm
5 Peter Bruegel the Elder,
Landscape with the Fall of
Icarus, oil on canvas, 73.5 cm x
112 cm, Royal Museums of Fine
Arts of Belgium
Footnotes
1
Nadine Orenstein, “Images to Print: Pieter Bruegel’s Engagement with Printmaking,”
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. (NY, 2001): 41—43.
2
Arthur Klein, Graphic Works of Peter Bruegel the Elder. (New York: Dover
Publications, 1963): 51—55.
3
Ethan Kavaler, “Pictoral Satire, Ironic Inversion, and Ideological Conflict. Bruegel’s
Battle between the Piggy Banks and Strong Boxes,” J. de Jong et.al., Pieter
Bruegel the Elder (1996), 155—165.
4
Orenstein, “Images to Print,” 45—51.
5
Jane Goldsmith, “Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the Matter of Italy.” Sixteenth Century
Journal 23 (1992): 205.
6
Klein, Graphic Works 51—53.
7
James Hall. Dictionary of Subject and Symbols in Art. 2nd ed. (Boulder: Westview
Press, 1974), 251—52.
8
Karl Kilinski, “Bruegel on Icarus: Inversions of the Fall,” Zeitschrift für
Kunstgeschichte. (Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2004), 97—99.
9
Margaret Sullivan, “Bruegel’s Misanthrope: Renaissance Art for a humanist audience,”
Artibus et historiae. (1992): 145—147.
10
Kavaler, “Pictoral Satire, Ironic Inversion,” 164.
11
Sullivan, “Bruegel’s Misanthrope,” 146—149.
12
Jane Goldsmith, “Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the Matter of Italy,” Sixteenth Century
Journal 23 (1992): 205—210.
13
Hall, Dictionary of Subjects and Smbols in Art, 164.
14
Kilinski, “Bruegel on Icarus,” 95—99.
15
Klein, Graphic Works, 51—55.
16
Walter Gibson, “Artists and Rederjikers in the Age of Brugel,” AB 63.3 (1981) 432—
435.
17
Kavaler, “Pictoral Satire, Ironic Inversion,” 170—177.
18
Kavaler, “Pictoral Sature, Ironic Inversion,” 155—165.
19
Kilinski, “Bruegel on Icarus,” 91—100.
20
Kavaler, “Pictoral Satire, Ironic Inversion,” 170—179.
Bibliography
Gibson, Walter S. “Artists and Rederjikers in the Age of Brugel.” AB 63.3 (1981): 426—
446.
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Goldsmith, Jane. “Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the Matter of Italy.” Sixteenth Century
Journal 23 (1992): 205—34.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. 2nd ed. Boulder: Westview Press,
(1974).
Kavaler, Ethan. “Pictorial Satire, Ironic Inversion, and Ideological Conflict. Bruegel’s
Battle between the Piggy Banks & Strong Boxes.” In J. de Jong et.al., Pieter
Bruegel the Elder, NKJ 47 (1996): 155—179.
Kavaler, Ethan. “The Fall of Icarus and the Natural Order.” Pieter Bruegel Parables of
Order and Enterprise. Cambridge, 1999. ch. 2: 56—76, notes 281—91.
Klein, H. Arthur. Graphic Works of Peter Bruegel the Elder. New York: Dover
Publications Inc. (1963): 57—91.
Kilinshi II, Karl. “Bruegel on Icarus: Inversions of the Fall,” Zeitschrift für
Kunstgeschichte. Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag. (2004): 91—114.
Orenstein, Nadine M. “Images to Print: Pieter Bruegel’s Engagement with Printmaking.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. ed., Nadine Orenstein. NY, 2001.
41—56.
Pinson, Yona. The Fool’s Journey: A Myth of Obsession in Northern Renaissance Art.
Turnhout: Brepols. (2008).
Smith, Pamela H. and Paula Findlen. “Introduction: Commerce and the Representation of
Nature in Art and Science,” Merchants & Marvels: Commerce, Science and Art in
Early Modern Europe. New York: Routledge. (2002): 1—25.
Sullivan, Margaret. “Bruegel’s Misanthrope: Renaissance art for a humanist audience.”
Artibus et historiae 13.26 (1992):143—62.
Sullivan, Margaret. “Bruegel’s Proverbs: Art and Audience in the Northern
Renaissance,” The Art Bulletin. 73, no. 3 (1991):431—466.