The semiotics of the image in "Flemish proverbs" by Bruegel

Abstract

This article brings an analysis regarding The Netherlandish Proverbs (1559), by the Flemish painter usually known as Bruegel, the Elder (1525 -1569), one of the most considerable Renaissance representatives, whose pictorial material, we believe, fosters a fertile area to the phenomenon of image studies. We tried to detect in the very rich typical elements of the picture, references that brought some observations about the discourse constituency level: expression and content, based on Algirdas Julien Greimas investigations and Jean-Marie Floch’s Plastic Semiotics theory. With the expression plan as reference, we made an effort to identify the different elements that compose images: Luminosity, Spatiality and Temporality. From the initial analysis of the expression plan, we completed the trajectory with the content plan, showing in this phase, in a dialogue with the expression plan, the elements of meaning effects or signification of the analyzed peace of art.