Why it matters
Weary hunters and their lean dogs return to a village in the depths of winter, their outing apparently unsuccessful. The painting belongs to Bruegel's series on the times of the year, in the old tradition of the Labours of the Months, and was painted as the harsh winters of the Little Ice Age were beginning.
Did you know?
- One of the hunters carries only the meagre corpse of a fox.
- The inn sign reads 'This is the Golden Hart' and shows Saint Hubert or Saint Eustace.
- The jagged mountain peaks do not exist in the Low Countries.
- Five paintings of the series survive; it was included in the BBC's 100 Great Paintings.
Based on the Wikipedia article The Hunters in the Snow (CC BY-SA 4.0).
