The Land of Cockaigne

Currently not on view

The Land of Cockaigne

After 1570?

Attributed to Pieter van der Heyden (Flemish, c. 1530–after 1572) After a painting of 1568 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish (active Antwerp and Brussels), c. 1525–1569)

A mythical haven of gluttony and sloth, the Land of Cockaigne was a place where food was plentiful and work unnecessary. This land was reached by eating one’s way through mounds of buckwheat pudding, as shown by the man emerging in the upper left corner with spoon in hand. Opposite him is a pig with a knife sheathed in its skin, ready to be eaten. At upper right, a cooked chicken flies into the open mouth of a soldier sheltered under a tart-covered roof. The text in Flemish below identifies the three central figures lying on the ground in a gluttonous daze as a clerk, farmer, and soldier. They represent the idea that all classes and types of people are susceptible to sinful overindulgence.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

The Land of Cockaigne

Date:

After 1570?

Artists:

Attributed to Pieter van der Heyden (Flemish, c. 1530–after 1572) After a painting of 1568 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish (active Antwerp and Brussels), c. 1525–1569)

Medium:

Engraving

Dimensions:

Sheet (cut to platemark): 8 1/4 × 11 inches (20.9 × 28 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Purchased with the John D. McIlhenny Fund, 1954

Accession Number:

1954-73-9

Geography:

Made in Antwerp, Netherlands (historical name, 15th-16th century), Europe

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Currently not on view