Oil painting: Robbing the Bird’s Nest by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, oil on panel.

Key information

Museum number

A166

Object

Oil painting: Robbing the Bird’s Nest by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, oil on panel.

Gallery label

Robbing the Bird’s Nest
Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1565-1638)
Oil on panel

This little oval is based on a larger, rectangular painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A peasant with a sack by his feet points towards a tree. There a thief, robbing a nest, clings to a branch as his hat falls off. The painting probably points to a moral contrasting the precarious position of the thief with the peasant on the ground. Meanwhile, in the background, women can be seen among fishponds and thatched houses, while a pair of white swans floats on the water.


A166

On display?

No
image a166 breughel birdnest pcf

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