Bruegel - The Seasons and the World
Afternoon Lecture
25 May 2023
The Harvesters by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565
Prior to Bruegel the Elder, the landscape had been merely a decorative backdrop to dramas both sacred and profane. But in Bruegel's hands the landscape and our interaction with it became the focus.
Looking at paintings such as The Return of the Herd, Hunters in the Snow and The Gloomy Day, this lecture explores how Bruegel pioneered a whole new way of thinking about the environment and our individual places within a shifting cosmos.
Gavin Plumley is a writer and broadcaster, who lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe. He appears on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and contributes to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide.
Recent appearances include Klimt and The Kiss in cinemas worldwide, and talks for the Hay and Cheltenham Literature Festivals, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum and the V&A. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, was published in 2022.
Gavin Plumley