The Wine of Saint Martin's Day facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Wine of Saint Martin's Day
Artist	Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year	c. 1565–1568
Type	Glue-size tempera on linen
Dimensions	148 cm × 270.5 cm (4 ft 10 in × 8 ft 10 in)
Location	Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Wine of Saint Martin's Day is a very large painting by the famous artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It is currently kept at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Experts confirmed it was a real Bruegel painting in 2010.

Like many of Bruegel's artworks, this painting shows scenes from everyday peasant life. It captures a lively festival called St. Martin's Day. This special day celebrates the first wine of the season.

What the Painting Shows

This painting shows a popular festival that happens every year on November 11. Even though it's not a religious painting, it has some Christian ideas in it. For example, you can see a cross by the side of the road. The people in the painting seem to be ignoring it.

Among the many people, there's a small group that reminds us of the story of St Martin of Tours. He was a saint who shared his cloak with a poor beggar. Bruegel often put important stories in a small part of his paintings. Another example is his painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, where a big event is just a small detail.

Experts believe Bruegel painted this artwork between 1565 and 1568. This is based on his painting style from that time.

About the Painting's Material

The Wine of Saint Martin's Day is one of the few paintings by Bruegel made using a special technique. It's called glue-size on linen, also known as Tüchlein. This method uses paint mixed with animal glue on a linen cloth instead of a wooden panel.

By the early 2000s, when its owners brought it to the Prado Museum for care, the painting was not in good shape. This is common for paintings made with glue-size because the material is very delicate. However, another Bruegel painting made with this method, The Blind Leading the Blind, is in much better condition. After a lot of careful work to fix it, The Wine of Saint Martin's Day is now on display for everyone to see at the Prado Museum.

How the Painting Was Found

This painting was officially identified as a Bruegel artwork in 2010 at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Scientists used X-rays to look closely at the painting's surface. They found tiny pieces of Bruegel's signature, which proved he was the artist. The Prado Museum then bought the painting for a good price.

The Wine of Saint Martin's Day seems to be the same painting that was listed in the collection of the Gonzaga dukes of Mantua in the early 1600s. However, there's a small question about whether it's exactly the same one. It might have been a similar painting now in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum.

The first clear record of the painting now at the Prado Museum comes from a list of items belonging to a Spanish nobleman. This was Luis Francisco de la Cerda, the ninth duke of Medinaceli. The list was made after the duke passed away in the early 1700s. People believe he bought the painting in Italy around the late 1600s.

See also

In Spanish: El vino de la fiesta de san Martín para niños

• List of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder