One begs in vain at the Door of the Deaf, ca. 1568

About the Work

Apart from referring to action taken in vain, the engraving draws attention to a social phenomenon of Bruegel’s time: it is not a sick or homeless man who stands at the door but a mendicant friar, or begging monk. Others are in more urgent need of the alms he collects, as already Erasmus of Rotterdam pointed out in his Praise of Folly. The motif’s topicality is mirrored by its widespread presence, for example in so-called emblem books (collections of allegories).