Buddha the Bathtub Bruegel

Pieter Bruegel, that is. I found this wonderfully helpful site called ArtCyclopedia that allows you to browse artists in alphabetical order. They also have a "Top 30" link from which I selected Bruegel's name to be featured alongside my artistic son's. :D

Other than the fortuitous "B"eginning of his last name, I know nothing about the man. I'm just slightly obsessed with alliteration.

Anyway, because I'm no art buff. I decided to take the opportunity to learn a bit about this Pieter Bruegel who seems to be a relatively famous artiste. Here's what I learned:

1. He was a "Netherlandish Renaissance painter." And the Netherlands is close to Scandinavia . . . so . . . well . . . Buddha has Scandinavian roots. Close enough?

2. He was known mostly for his landscapes (unlike Buddha) and peasant paintings (totally Buddha - we've got plenty of peasantry around these parts. HA!).

3. He dropped the "h" from his name (formerly Brueghel), which I can totally relate to since I seem to have an affinity for adding a letter to mine.

4. He liked to dress up like a peasant so that he could mingle with "lower" society during social events like weddings and other celebrations and gain inspiration for his art. Translate: he was a 16th century party crasher.

5. He kind of reminds me of James Christensen in that he favored combining multiple illustrations/messages in one work. Like in the case of his piece Netherlandish Proverbs in which he depicts over 100 peasant-life proverbs in one painting:



Faery Tales by James Christensen:



And now you'll see just how similar Bruegel and Buddha really are.

Bathtub Tales by Buddha Bagel:







P.S. Now I really want to know what all those 100 Netherland proverbs are! I think homeschooling and I are going to get along swimmingly.

P.P.S. I found them! I found the 100 proverbs/idioms! If you need me, you know where to find me. :D

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