Farcaster

1556
The Hunters in the Snow
Artist: Pieter Bruegel The Elder

This painting depicts three hunters, followed by a pack of hunting dogs, as they come home from a long day of the kill. Their dark, strongly outlined figures create a diagonal, further emphasized by the black tree trunks that surround them, drawing the viewer's attention to the village below, its roofs covered with snow. On the frozen river and large ponds, the villagers skate. Another diagonal running from middle left to lower right divides the painting between the hill and the broad expanse that fills the right half of the painting with the frozen ponds, a church spire, roads, and farmlands, rising to snow covered mountains, while overhead a black raven soars. A feeling of village life and a strong sense of community are conveyed, the harsh environment, but also its rigorous beauty, and the sense of human life, at work and at play.