Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Netherlandish Proverbs and Sixteenth Century Dutch Semiotics

"In 1559, Pieter Bruegel the Elder‘s depiction of {7f2015}Netherlandish Proverbs‖ illustrated his profound understanding of the Dutch love for proverbs, their contemporary values, and appreciation for moral lessons in art forms. Depicting gestures and poses that represented proverbial phrases enabled Bruegel‘s leap from didactic labels employed by other artists to his inscription-free success of {7f2015}Netherlandish Proverbs.‖ My examination reveals that Bruegel‘s employment of gestural imagery, indicating rhetorical phrases or proverbs, was reinforced by a history of scholarly curatorship for written proverb collections, humanist interest in proverbs, and use of Dutch vernacular to bolster protonational pride"

Janet Sobel : expressions of experience

Historians have yet to realize the depth of artist Janet Sobel’s artistic aptitude and ingenuity. This paper focuses on understanding how unique Sobel and her art were due to her distinctive world experiences and her ability to express her feelings about these experiences through her art. It also demonstrates the importance of her Jewish and Ukrainian heritage, showing how this influenced her artistic development. Sobel immigrated to the United States at a young age and struggled with her identity. Her art was a way for her to define and accept her personal identity as an immigrant Eastern European Jew in America. In addition to this heritage, Sobel experienced many traumatic events in her early life. Her art therefore served as a way for Sobel to work through this past trauma and come to terms with it.