Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind;

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Title	Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind;
Title Alternative	Parable of Blind Men;
File Name	civ metadata CID; Civ Archive 033 correct picture; 98400722.jpg
Copyright Status/Owner	Public Domain; Need to Request
Rights (Patron Usage Instructions)	http://www.lib.byu.edu/genericnote_copyright.html
Course	HUM 202
Lecture Number	4
Professor	Green, Jon D., 1940-
Description	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 blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14; Luke 6:39). In contrast to Bruegel’s other satirical paintings, this scene offers a tragic rather than humorous representation of mankind. The artist pays meticulous attention to every detail, especially his portrayal of the wretched blind men, and doctors have identified specific eye diseases among them such as glaucoma, cataracts, etc. Despite the focus on physical infirmities, the moral of the scene relates to “spiritual” blindness. All the men will fall and none of the witnessing townspeople or clergy members can save them. Although the figures are presented in a specific historical moment, the painting’s meaning is universal and ageless.
Creator	Bruegel, Pieter, ca. 1525-1569
Country	Flanders
Geographic Region	Europe
Type	Slide
Platform	Cross-Platform
File Size	308.818 KB
Genre	Paintings
Category	Art
Keywords	Bruegel, Pieter; Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind; Parable of the Blind Men; Proverbs; Northern Renaissance; Flemish art; Northern Renaissance;
Time Period	Northern Renaissance
Date Range	1560 AD : 1600 AD
Date Original	1568 AD
Date Digital	2005-03-29
Metadata Entry Date	2009-08-11
Quality	High
Contributors	Brigham Young University
Edition	Electronic reproduction;
Format	JPEG
Owning Institution	Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples
Physical Description	33-7/8 x 60-5/8 in.
Publisher Digital	Brigham Young University
Source	Piero Bianconi, Complete Paintings of Brueghel, intro. by Robert Hughes (New York: H.N. Abrams, 1970), Plate VIII; James Snyder, Northern Renaissance Art, 2nd ed., revised by Larry Silver and Henry Luttikhuizen (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005), 512-513.
Use Time	0:00:00

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