Who painted The Gloomy Day?

The Gloomy Day was painted by Pieter Brueghel I in 1565.

Where can I see The Gloomy Day?

The Gloomy Day is held by Kunsthistorisches Museum.

What movement is The Gloomy Day?

The Gloomy Day is associated with Northern Renaissance.

Can I buy a print of The Gloomy Day?

Museum-quality prints of The Gloomy Day are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Gloomy Day

Pieter Brueghel I , 1565

The Gloomy Day is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Pieter Brueghel I. It dates from 1565 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

About this work

Technique & Style

The composition’s restless energy is countered by the sturdy verticals of central trees, which stabilize the scene.

Executed in oil on oak panel in 1565, the work measures 118 by 163 cm. Bruegel employed a restrained, earth-toned palette in the foreground, dominating browns and ochres, while the background shifts to cooler blues, greens, and greys to heighten spatial recession. The handling balances broad, descriptive passages with delicate modeling; the sky is rendered through layered glazes that modulate from slate to luminous breaks of light, while foliage and architecture are described with crisp, almost graphic strokes. The composition’s restless energy is countered by the sturdy verticals of central trees, which stabilize the scene. The scene’s bleak mood arises from the contrast between the still, quotidian activities in the foreground and the violent storm battering the coastline, where ships founder in heavy seas.

History & Provenance

The Gloomy Day was painted in 1565 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder as an oil-on-oak panel, one of six seasonal works commissioned that year by the Antwerp collector Niclaes Jonghelinck. After Jonghelinck’s ownership, the series entered Habsburg hands in 1594 when it was presented as a gift to Archduke Ernest of Austria. The paintings subsequently passed to Emperor Rudolf II, then to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, and finally entered the imperial collections that now form the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, where the panel remains today (Inv. GG 1837).

The painting is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, where it is displayed in Hall 10 under the inventory number GG 1837. Created in 1565, the work was originally commissioned by the collector Nicolaes Jonghelinck. By 1594, the series to which this panel belongs had entered the Habsburg collection as a gift to Archduke Ernest of Austria. The ownership lineage subsequently passed through Emperor Rudolf II and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria before residing in its current institutional home. While specific temporary exhibition records are not detailed in the provided texts, the work remains a permanent part of the museum's holdings.