Autunno 

Pieter Brueghel the Younger made this painting, Autunno, with oil paints. Brueghel used traditional art materials to capture scenes from everyday life. Brueghel’s painting is full of material information, from the rough texture of the buildings to the heavy, stout barrels being transported in the background. These materials and their handling reflect the labor involved in early modern life. We can see the rendering of the pig carcass in the foreground, and how its slaughter and butchering involves a team of people with specialized roles. An economy is apparent in the picture, in which different members of the community each contribute to the necessities of life. By attending to the painting’s subject matter and how it is rendered with paint, we can expand our appreciation of its cultural significance. It invites us to look beyond traditional fine art to understand the labor and materials that shape our lives.