Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Country Wedding, 16th–17th century, oil on wood, Art Gallery of Ontario; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Redelmeier, 1940, 2557.
This is an oil on wood painting, titled Country Wedding by artist Pieter Brueghel the Younger. It is from the 1500s or 1600s, and was a gift to the Art Gallery of Ontario by Mr. and Mrs. W. Redelmeier in 1940.
The scene is set in Europe during the 1500s or 1600s and features a country wedding within a wooded glade. About fifty people are shown celebrating in the rustic setting. The people are dancing, eating, drinking, playing musical instruments, and embracing each other. Most of the people are wearing clothes associated with working-class labourers of the time period, in earth-coloured tones, such as browns, greens, and grays. Some figures wear garments that stand out in the rustic, forest setting: contrasting fabrics of sharp, bright reds, whites, and piercing yellows. Trees, bushes, and hut-like structures are shown in the background.
In the bottom-left foreground of the painting, a male figure dances alone. Wearing a red hat, red pants, and a white coat, his face and body are visible to us. This male figure is looking to his left, over at a group of other people dancing adjacent to him in the bottom right of the painting. Within that group, another male figure appears prominently, dancing in front of a woman. The man is in a strutting posture, wearing bright yellow and white clothes. The woman is depicted with her back to the viewer, her face out of view. She stands with her hands on her hips and faces the strutting man.
In the centre of the painting, groups of figures behind the dancers are partaking in other activities, like sitting, talking, drinking, and eating. All around the painting, the atmosphere is celebratory, with various scenes of revelry and merriment that boast a melodious quality.
Located in the Dance to the Music section, the painting captures the seemingly timeless and universal impulse to move our bodies.