Loonse scythes

In my book, I wrote the following about the scythes in Bruegel's Corn Harvest and Hay Harvest from the series Twelve Months:

"Bruegel's language was, of course, primarily one of images. It is therefore logical that his depictions of landscapes, buildings, objects such as agricultural vehicles and tools have been discussed in the debate about his origins. For example, folklorist Jan Theuwissen pointed out that the grain harvest in the Loonse Kempen was done with a scythe, while in other regions of the Netherlands it was usually done with a sickle and hook. ^[1] Bruegel's ‘The Harvest’ shows farmers harvesting their grain with a scythe.^[2] According to Theuwissen, the cart in Bruegel's ‘The Census at Bethlehem’ ^[3] also closely resembles a type found in the Loonse Kempen. ^[4] Claessens and Rousseau believe that the painter's work reveals an ‘astonishing knowledge of the life, work, customs, attitudes, and clothing of the peasants, a knowledge that goes far beyond what he could have acquired during ordinary visits to the countryside’. ^[5] They also point out that several works painted by Bruegel in 1567 and 1568 seem to testify to his melancholy about his youth and indicate that he foresaw his end. ^[6] The lost original of ‘The Visit to the Farm’ is thought to date from 1567. In ‘The Misanthrope’, ‘The Nest Robber’^[7] and ‘The Evil Shepherd’^[8] from 1568, they see ‘Limburg landscapes’. We mention these arguments here for the sake of completeness, but agree with Huet: these images do not necessarily say anything about his place of origin. He could have observed them anywhere and at any time in his life and then reproduced them in his works.^[9] They therefore do not constitute proof. At most, it can be said that they are in line with what has been argued above.”

Advancing insight led to the question: "Why would Bruegel, who was born and raised in Brabant and lived and worked there for most of his life, choose the scythe from the Loonse Kempen for his painting of the corn harvest, when in most of the Low Countries, more specifically in Brabant (including North Brabant in the Netherlands) and Flanders, the hay and grain harvest was predominantly done with hooks and sickles?"

This is evident from research by the late Professor Jan Theuwissen and this map published by him.

The print Noordbrabantsch dorpsleven (North Brabant village life) illustrates the results of Theuwissen's research.

A thorough study of Bruegel's Twelve Months and later works indicates that they contain even more references to his cradle, the Loonse Kempen, but more on that later.

NOTES

[1] Leen Huet, Bruegel, de biografie, 2016, 64; Nils Büttner, Bruegel, schilder van boeren en heiligen, 2019, 102 with reference to Jan Theuwissen in Catteeuw, Top ed., Toplore: stories and songs, 2006

[2] The Corn Harvest, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

[3] The Census at Bethlehem, KMSK, Brussels

[4] Jan Theuwissen, Het landbouwvoertuig in de etnografie van de Kempen (Agricultural Vehicles in the Ethnography of the Kempen), Standaard wetenschappelijke uitgeverij, Antwerp-Utrecht, 1969, 41

[5] Bob Claessens and Jeanne Rousseau, Onze Bruegel, 133

[6] Bob Claessens and Jeanne Rousseau, op. cit., 173-174

[7] The Nest Robber, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

[8] The Evil Shepherd, painted by a follower of Bruegel after a lost original from 1568, Museum of Art, Philadelphia

[9] Leen Huet, op. cit., l.c.