Dulle Griet (‘Dull Gret’)

‘A Dull Gret (or ‘Mad Meg’) who commits a robbery for Hell, looks terribly bewildered, and is dressed eccentrically.’ This is how Karel van Mander described this renowned panel by Pieter Bruegel in his ‘Schilderboeck’ from 1604, which at the time was about forty years old. Perhaps even Van Mander himself no longer knew exactly what it represented and meant. Its enigmas have been preserved to this day. What is beyond dispute is that there is a ‘hidden’ allegorical and/or religious meaning behind it, and that the message is pessimistic. Despite – or because of? – its mysteries, the apocalyptic-looking Dull Gret is a work that continues to fascinate. The great art connoisseur Max Friedländer aptly called it ‘a volcanic painting’. Bizarre ruins, hybrid monster creatures, brawls, strange ‘ships’, a barren area, the horizon in a scorching glow: the whole shows a fantastic hellish condition. Amidst the chaos, a disproportionately fanatical-looking and powerfully striding woman catches the eye: Dull Gret. She is armoured and carries a sword, eating utensils and a money chest.

Dull Gret is a narrative painting in the finest Flemish tradition: the various ‘episodes’ and figures illustrate the main theme. Perhaps Bruegel was denouncing two human traits: Madness (in the 16th century, this concept stood for rage, anger, gluttony, lust, greed and ambition) and Folly (symbolised by Dull Gret)? And perhaps in this way, he was commenting on the political and religious situations in the confusing 16th century?