One of the characteristics shared by these Wimmelbilder is an elevated viewpoint. The raised line of the horizon creates a bird’s eye view: gazing down on the busy scene, we discover a wealth of details.

Particularly interesting is the receding perspective of the row of houses that line the street at top right, which is reminiscent of Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1554). He wrote treatises on architecture that were published by Bruegel’s father-in-law Pieter Coecke van Aelst in the sixteenth century. In these treatises, Serlio also discussed ’scenery’ and ‘stage design’ for painters.

Another, obvious, seminal aspect of these Wimmelbilder is the almost unbelievable number of figures and details that are just waiting to be discovered.

Around 230 figures are romping around on this pictorial plane.

Almost all of them are children engaged in over ninety different games. Some of these games, such as Blind Man’s Buff, are still played today. Others have been forgotten and were only identified after extensive research.

Some of the children are imitating the activities of adults, for example by playing bride and groom, christening a child, or pretending to be a shopkeeper.

Bruegel not only depicts countless games in painstaking detail, he also captures a plethora of different moods – they run the gamut from placid to aggressive. With just a few brushstrokes, the artist conjures up facial expressions and body language.