An excellent week to pester you all again with my favourite painting, Hunters in the Snow by Brueghel. The depth, the detail is amazing. Let's look at some of the details 1/n

A seasonal hazard were and are, chimney fires. See if you can spot it on the painting in the 1st tweet (above).

Here it is - 3/n

While the hunters slouch back home with their meagre catch, people are enjoying themselves on the ice. Skating, ice hockey ("colf" or "kolf") and curling.

Intermezzo: I'm not good at (ac)counting, obviously. 5/n

The sign says: Dit Is Gulden Hert (This Is Golden Hart), reference to St. Hubertus (or possibly Eustace), patron saint of hunters. St. Eustace is also patron saint of hunters, ànd of fire fighters. The sign is damaged (somewhat failing), a sign of the failed hunt. 6/n

St. Hubertus is the patron saint of hunters, and dogs, archers, metal workers. St. Eustace is very similar to St. Hubertus, but Eustace is the patron saint of fire fighters. 7/n

The colour palet is wonderful.

In the far distance, a castle or monastery, and a village at the end of the world. Carts or sledges drawn by horses across the ice - the river mouth is frozen.
Where are we, 8?/n

That was 9, so this is 10/n. Hunters in the Snow features a small bird trap (left), a way to catch some extra proteins. A other famous winter scene by Brueghel sr. is Winter Landscape with Bird Trap on the right. Bruegel (Brueghel) painted in The Little Ice Age.

11/fin Winters were very severe, and people suffered great hardship. A good introduction to the age is Philipp Blom's book, Nature's Mutiny. Which should have had Hunters in the Snow on its cover, #justsaying.

Not quite there, yet. Don't forget that people did not have coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to drink.

In tweet 11 you can see people burning straw, dried reeds - had they run out of wood for fuel? Not a good sign either.

And on we go. It is said that the rickety sign of the inn may also indicate that is was a tavern of ill repute. 12/n

I prefer the interpretation that its faltering sign is congruent with the failed hunt. Saint Hubertus' feast day is on November 3rd. The incident with the deer is said to have occurred on Good Friday 683 AD.
This painting L is by Carl Räuber, 19th C.