Pieter Bruegel

Big Fish Eats Small Fish Artwork by Pieter, the Elder,

May 6, 2016.

Big Fish Eats Small Fish Artwork by Pieter, the Elder.

Introduction.

Pieter’s artwork on Big Fish Eats Small Fish is one of the best art pieces ever. Previous scholarly articles and sources have lauded him for using humor to pass some serious moral instructions. His painting was inspired a prominent artist known as Bosch- hence his designs were deeply rooted in Bosch’s plans that were described as consciously reminiscent. Scholars have described this particular piece as haunting since it contains a lot of proverbs and hidden meanings. (The Metropolitan Art Museum). Perhaps, this is one of the best art pieces of his age that is proverbial yet easy to decode the deeper meaning. Scholars who have attempted to interpret the piece of art have described it as enlightening and prophetic since it describes the happenings of the past, the present and probably the future state of the world. Big fish eating small fish is a symbolic artwork that speaks of how people in better positions mistreat those below them. In this paper, we will dig deeper into the artist’s imagery as we try to sieve out the intended message. We will also discuss the validity of these scholars’ opinions.

Big Fish Eats Small Fish Artwork.

I agree with the interpretation of the intended meaning of the piece in most of the scholarly articles. The drawing reveals a big fish that lies offshore next to a big sea, with a number of small fish tumbling from its mouth. A person, probably a fisherman, appears to pierce through the stomach of the fish using a big knife and much more fish tumble from the belly. In the background of the art piece there are other big fish –though not as big as the one offshore- that appear to eat the smaller fish that also appear to eat even smaller fish in the sea. In a boat seats a man and his son, and he seems pointing to the big fish whose belly has just been sliced. (Freedbag).

Still in the boat, another...