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Source Description
This 1560 etching by Antwerp artist Peeter van der Borcht is an important part of a tradition depicting peasant fairs, customs, and scenes of daily life with origins in the Low Countries in the 16th century. The protagonist of this expansive scene is the bride, who is seated at the table in the center of the composition. She sits with her arms crossed, wearing a placid expression. There is no food or drink at her table despite the plentiful victuals around her. According to Netherlandish custom, the bride was not permitted to eat or drink until the arrival of the bridegroom, which traditionally took place in the evening.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
441159
label
The Large Wedding Feast
core
obj
dtoType
print
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
441159
contentType
print
title
The Large Wedding Feast
description
This 1560 etching by Antwerp artist Peeter van der Borcht is an important part of a tradition depicting peasant fairs, customs, and scenes of daily life with origins in the Low Countries in the 16th century. The protagonist of this expansive scene is the bride, who is seated at the table in the center of the composition. She sits with her arms crossed, wearing a placid expression. There is no food or drink at her table despite the plentiful victuals around her. According to Netherlandish custom, the bride was not permitted to eat or drink until the arrival of the bridegroom, which traditionally took place in the evening.
date
1560
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q117246825
creators
441157
genreSpecific
Print
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Image: 36.4 x 50.7 cm (14 5/16 x 19 15/16 in.); Sheet: 36.4 x 50.7 cm (14 5/16 x 19 15/16 in.)
cul
Netherlands
accession
2021.143
Source extras
tec
etching with engraving
tombstone
The Large Wedding Feast, 1560. Peeter van der Borcht (Netherlandish, c. 1535–1608). Etching with engraving; image: 36.4 x 50.7 cm (14 5/16 x 19 15/16 in.); sheet: 36.4 x 50.7 cm (14 5/16 x 19 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Carole W. and Charles B. Rosenblatt Endowment Fund, 2021.143
collection
PR - Etching
stateOfTheWork
i/ii
inscriptions
inscription
Signed and dated in upper left corner: FECIT PETRVS VANDER BORCHT. 1560
inscription
With publisher’s address: BERTOLEMEES DE MOMPRE EXCVDEBAT
inscription
In black ink on verso: "ZBiernacki 1902"
inscription
Watermark: post-horn in a coat of arms, very similar to Briquet 7862 (Brabant 1593 and Middelbourg 1591) but larger (54 x 43 mm).
didYouKnow
Just as today, the couple receives gifts from wedding guests; here, a clerk at the table counts coins while a line of guests wait their turn to present gifts including a salt cellar, stool, candleholder, stockpot, butter churn, distaff, bellows, tongs, and pots.
citations
citation
Miedema, Hessel. “Feestende Boeren - Lachende Dorpers. Bij Twee Recente Aanwinsten van Het Rijksprentenkabinet.” <em>Bulletin van Het Rijksmuseum</em> 29, no. 4 (1981): 191–213.
citation
Paul Vandenbroeck: « Verbeeck's Peasant Weddings: A Study of Iconography and Social Function » in <em>Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art</em>, Vol. 14, no. 2 (1984).
page_number
p. 79-124
citation
Jongh, E. de, and Ger Luijten. Mirror of everyday life: genreprints in the Netherlands, 1550-1700. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 1997.
citation
Bruegel, Pieter, and Nadine Orenstein. Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001.
citation
Manfred Sellink: <em>Bruegel, L’œuvre complet, peintures, dessins, gravures</em>, 2007.
catalogueRaisonne
New Hollstein No. 172
creditline
Carole W. and Charles B. Rosenblatt Endowment Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-04 11:04:10.457000
sourceId
441159
dept
Prints
coll
PR - Etching
med
etching with engraving
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ba17efed13465fe5