Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind (detail); ; Parable of Blind Men (detail);

Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind (1568) is an excellent example of the way in which Pieter Bruegel the Elder often referred to popular proverbs and puns in his genre scenes. In the mid-sixteenth century, there was an abundance of Netherlandish proverb collections published and contemporaries would have been familiar with and interested in the textual sources of Bruegel’s paintings. Unlike many other paintings that related to proverbs, Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind does not in any way disguise its moralistic message. The scene clearly refers to the scriptural theme “And if a blin... Mehr ...