🖌️🎨 Human stupidity in the painting by Pieter Bruegel (d. 1569)

Folklore was an important source of inspiration for Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Many of his works are illustrations of proverbs and sayings.
In 1558, the Dutch artist created a painting made up of panels, "Twelve Proverbs".
The canvas is considered to be a preparatory work for the famous painting "Netherlands Proverbs".
In this painting, the artist depicted more than 100 encrypted proverbs, aphorisms and fables that expose human stupidity and vices. There is no general plot in the work, so everything that happens on the canvas looks absurd. But if you look at the scenes separately, they are filled with meaning.
But not all of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's proverbs have been deciphered. Some have been forgotten over time and have fallen out of use.
1. "She puts a blue cloak on her husband" - the wife is cheating on her husband.
2. "Bang your head against the wall" - trying to achieve the impossible.
3. "Shave a fool without soap" - to cheat.
4. "Defecate on the moon" - a useless activity that only wastes time.
5. "Relieve yourself in the same hole" - friends are inseparable.
6. "Hang your cloak in the wind" - changing your mind to suit circumstances.
7. "Sit on coals" - about those who do not know how to wait and be patient.
8. "Scratch your butt against the door" - disrespectful attitude towards others. "Kiss the doorknob" - to be disingenuous.
9. "One wind tosses what another spins" - to gossip.

Source: bit.ua