Philip II's 1560 departure changed the political-religious climate in the Low Countries, which is thought to be the latent theme of this painting, as a mass of people are frightened into a trap decorated with crosses at the center of this work.
On the left of this painting, restrained figures are cast into a pond, which is a device the artist repeats in several works and is thought to allude to the historical practices of Antoine Perrenot. Another element of this painting is an after-dinner musical performance on lute and recorder, which is mocked by a third player standing behind and playing the viola da gamba. Music is also used to mocking effect by a different figure playing the hurdy-gurdy as his wagon tramples one man and his horse bites a prone woman. Philip II's 1560 departure changed the political-religious climate in the Low Countries, which is thought to be the latent theme of this painting, as a mass of people are frightened into a trap decorated with crosses at the center of this work. For 10 points, name this nightmarish painting of an expansive landscape of destruction, torture, and torment inflicted by an army of skeletons, a work of Pieter Bruegel.
On the left of this painting, restrained figures are cast into a pond, which is a device the artist repeats in several works and is thought to allude to the historical practices of Antoine Perrenot.
The Triumph of Death