Customer Reviews

Pieter Bruegel and the Art of Laughter (Ahmanson-Murphy Fine Arts Books)

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I sympathize with Kev's review, as I too found the book somewhat tedious, although I was able to finish it. Kev is not fair, however, in saying that Gibson writes what seems to be a historical narrative about festivals in the 1500s; that is true of just one chapter. The point of the book is to take issue with scholars who focus on, in Gibson's words, "the serious-minded, didactic Bruegel, whose paintings and drawings, like the allegorical dramas so popular in his life time, are assumed to be 'vol scoone moralisacien' (full of lovely moralizations)." Thus, when Bruegel painted a wedding dance or a wedding feast, his purpose was not to moralize about the sins of lust and gluttony, but to portray peasants having a good time. Admittedly, this does not make the book about "The Art of Laughter."

Let me register two small complaints. One is Gibson's too-frequent use of Dutch, as in the quotation above. Gibson translates it, but the number of readers who benefit from the Dutch must be tiny. Second is Gibson's gratuitous use of his wide scholarship. He writes, for example, "We may also wonder if the bride in the Peasant Wedding Feast is like the brides characterized by an English playwright of the next century [whom Gibson quotes]. If any classically educated viewers of Bruegel's peasant scenes felt the urge to show off their knowledge of ancient literature, they may have quoted from Ovid's description of the feast of Anna Perenna [which Gibson quotes]." Why quote an English and a Roman writer to comment on a Flemish painting? Was Gibson even aware that he might have "felt the urge to show off [his] knowledge"? Still, Gibson is a Bruegel scholar (he is the author of the 1977 book on Bruegel in "The World of Art" series) and he writes clearly, so, if you like Bruegel, you'll probably find this book worth reading.

The title to this book is so misleading. I really love the Bruegel prints and paintings. And some of them do make me laugh. But Mr. Gibson winds up writing what seems to be a historical narative about festivals in the 1500's. There was nothing really written about laughter and nothing about the book really made me laugh. I must admit I found it quite boring and didn't bother to finish it. A rarity for me. If you enjoy Bruegel as much as I do, stay away from this book.