Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The Hunters in the Snow
From $100
This painting is autumn browns, rust and stormy greys, and a cheap copy turns it flat and muddy. Our Bruegel The Return of the Herd print is made from the museum’s own photograph, unretouched, so the autumn light stays rich.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
16x12 inch, 20x16 inch, 24x18 inch, 30x24 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its wide shape suits a living room, a study or the wall above a sofa. The browns, rusts and greys look rich with cream, charcoal and walnut, and a natural wood or black frame suits it.
About the painting
The Return of the Herd by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The painter of village life
Pieter Bruegel the Elder of Antwerp and Brussels made peasants, seasons and proverbs the subject of great paintings, packed with people, jokes and stories.
Autumn
Herdsmen drive their cattle home down a hillside as the trees turn bare and the sky darkens over a river valley: October and November.
The Months
It is one of the five surviving paintings of the times of year Bruegel made in 1565. They entered the Habsburg collection in 1594.
Read the story
An autumn day turning cold. Herdsmen drive a long line of cattle home down a hillside. The trees are almost bare. Below, a river winds through a wide valley, and on the far side, steep mountains. Dark storm clouds gather over the sky.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted this in 1565. It shows October and November, the time when animals were brought down from the pastures before winter set in.
It belongs to a famous series of paintings of the times of year, made for a wealthy banker in Antwerp, Nicolaes Jonghelinck. Five of them survive. Three, including this one, hang side by side in Vienna, with The Hunters in the Snow and The Gloomy Day.
Look at the colours. Rust and brown and gold in the foreground, cold grey-green in the distance. You can almost feel the first chill in the air.
In 1594 the series passed to the Habsburgs, and it has been in their collection ever since.
The Return of the Herd. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
