Some of you may know who he is because his painting “Proverbidioms” has been reproduced and is now a popular selling poster throughout the world. Others may be aware that he painted a triptych for Jim Morrison of the Doors in the 70’s.

If you still don’t know who I’m talking about, it’s worth taking the time to find out. The painting I was referring to, is a modern version of Pieter Breughels’ “The Netherlandish Proverbs.” Unlike Breughels’ work, which had approximately 100 proverbial phrases popular in the 16th century, a then 24-year old Breitenbach painted over 300 contemporary proverbs and idioms in his 1975 work of art.

His painting has a cartoonish feel to it and depicts images such as a carrot eating a carrot, interpreted as “You are what you eat.” You can also find someone having their cake and eating it too, right next to a man hungry enough that he’s eating a horse. It is a somewhat satirical but hilarious depiction of expressions we use in our everyday life. The American artist, T.E Breitenbach will be at the Fleming Museum on Thursday, April 29 at 6:00pm.

This lecture is a part of the exhibition “The Netherlandish Proverbs” by Pieter Breughel the Younger, and will consist of an evening talk. The University of Vermont’s Fleming Museum and Department of German and Russian are proud to bring such a phenomenal artist to the institution. The event is free for all students and faculty.