Bruegel Anyone?

One of the startling themes in the art of Bruegel is human mortality. In many of his works, death comes in the midst of the mundane everyday activities of existence. Perhaps not as dramatic but still startling are the abandoned houses, the homes of fishermen, that stand in ruins on the edge of things. This is a kind of death— the death of a way of life, a testiment to the tidal water of the creeks that rises, invades and evicts… The marsh hen and her brood scamper across in front of the old house. They are looking for mudcrabs and grasshoppers. Life is good. The open door swings open with the wind and the torn and rotting nets still hang next to the collapsing front porch. There is a sad lesson here.