The Land of Cockaigne

by Peter Bruegel the Elder

(b.Breda? 1525, d. Brussels 1569)

signed and dated 1566

Oak, 52cm x 78 cm/ 20.5 x 30.75 inches

The Alte Pinakothek Munich, Germany

Pieter Bruegel the Elder lived at a time of political and religious upheaval. It was during the end of Mannerism, while the Spanish occupied the Netherlands, that he produced a remarkable body of work. His ability to give each painting the right form of composition for its content was outstanding. In the "Land of Cockaigne" Bruegel achieves to display the constant awareness and responsibility of the survival of human dignity. Towards the later part of his career and life he chose to translate Proverbs into visual images. The "Land of Cockaigne" is based on the Flemish proverb; nothing is stupider than a lazy glutton.

"Until now this land was not known to any man save the ne'er-do-wells who first discovered it. All of those who wish to go there must be men of exceeding courage and ready to undergo great hardships, for that land is cut off from the world by a very long and lofty mound of cornmeal cake through which they have to eat their way before coming to the aforesaid, most famous country, well known to scapegraces and men who have cast away every scrap of decency and virtue. For there is no greater disgrace in that country than to behave virtuously, sagely and honorably, to practice good manners and to earn one's daily by the labor of one's hands. The man who leads a righteous, honest life is loathed by all, and sooner or later banished from that land. Likewise he who is wise and has a good understanding is greatly scorned and none makes him welcome. " (1.)

Bruegel, who visited Italy during the years of 1552-1553, might have based this composition on the popular wheel of fortune or wheel of fate, as analyzed by Louis Lebeer. Thrown out of its axis, the wheel has stopped spinning. The spokes are portrayed by the peasant whose flail no longer threshes the grain, the knight and his unused lance, and the scholar who has closed his book.  Whether it is the wheel of fortune or paradise, all are seen as round and perfect self containing in our symbolic imagination.

The paintings overall size is based on the musical relationship of the Sequialtera (Diapente 2/3) or Fifth 2/3.  The tree takes the position of the centre axis (central point of time and space) around which the composition revolves. The island can be seen as the much desired paradise.

"It symbolizes primordial perfection and the golden age, the cosmic center, it also represents the innermost soul, a place where time stands still. Paradise is always an enclosed secret space or garden, surrounded by the sea". (2.)

At first when we look, we can relate to this world through the objects (food, man, and clothing) that are known to us. At close observation we realize that Bruegel chose to give this perfectly envisioned paradise an unreal, distorted space. Thrown out of balance, it is turned into a devil's paradise. At the point of entry (upper right) the horizon shifts for the man who just ate through the mountains of cornmeal cake. The land of "Cockaigne" has its own horizon, which is invisible to us, and can only be realized through the two vanishing points created by the white square table cloths. This can very well stand as the link between the "Land of Cockaigne" and our own. The square represents the earth as opposed to the circle of  heaven, in this case the round island. The white color represents transformation from death to rebirth and/or the life beyond. The circle within the square is the transformation from earth into heaven or vice versa. The goose stands for caution and providence.

Assuming that Bruegel proceeded in creating a second horizon, he is using the perspective of the under structure to define the outer limits of the island (green line, diagram one), and set the spacial position of this land in relation to our world. From here on, he then abandoned all rules of perspective, because the land of Cockaigne is a different world where none of our rules apply. This is shown by the tilt of the ground to the right while the table tilts to the left. Furthermore, patterns of light are found in the foreground and balanced by the distant view of the sea.  Darks are scattered around, but there are no unifying shadow areas. The overall tone of value is in the middle range. Light is coming from above, but there are no strong shadows; no movement of light can be detected. Also, it seems to get more intense towards the back of the little island. There is no real sense of color change as it is known to us from nature, except for our own land behind the dividing mountain. The mountain of cornmeal cake, the trees growing into it and the cactus made of pancakes, hinge the island and our world and give the effect of continuous space. Our standing point is very close, which explains the distortion of perspective towards the lower left. Everything beyond 60 degrees of our cone of vision would look distorted. This distortion is kept in balance by the counter action of the lance and the flail.

All objects are reduced to the geometrical forms of the sphere, cone and cylinder.  The three main characters and the square cloth are distributed around the tree like the spokes of a wheel.  Their connection to the ground, which looks to us like the great mound, is supported by their tools, clothing, subtle color and value variations in the soil and grass on which they rest.  These horizontal variations give us the feeling of steps that take us into space. 

We enter the painting through the leg close to us, and are drawn into the eternal circular movement around this center axis.  By help of the turn of the goose's neck (on the white cloth) and the tree (upper right) we are allowed to meet the newcomer to the land of Cockaigne to immediately be brought back to the center.

There is really no sense of time in this composition. The circular movement has no beginning, nor does it have an end. The hut on the upper left keeps us in the circular motion, so does the sausage fence in the back towards the sea.

To the viewer this painting represents a moral warning. Standing practically at the edge, we have to watch out, that we are not drawn into this eternal rut of gluttony and drunkenness.  No member of our society is excused to lead a life of sloth and apathy. 

Symbolic images are to be found throughout the painting. The broken egg with the knife stands as a symbol of the devil. The swine is a Christian symbol of Satan and gluttony.  The hut decorated with pies represents the great nurturing mother.  The square cloth with plate and goose stand for the transcendence into another world.  The hut brings to mind the connection with the German fairytale of "Hansel and Gretel", where nothing really changes but the children's attitudes, which is the point Bruegel is making.  Our inner attitudes have to change; we have to transscend our dependence on church and government to reach a higher stage of development, to cooperate with all members of society in meeting life's tasks.

Bruegel, the great humanist with his satiric edge, positioned the spectator so close to this fairy tale world as an invitation to come in. Beware, upon entering this land, the known horizon and perspective will be lost.