![Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Flemish Proverbs [1559]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7547/16275860491_521033a784_o.jpg)
Critics have praised the composition for its ordered portrayal and integrated scene. There are approximately 112 identifiable proverbs and idioms in the scene, although Bruegel may have included others which cannot be determined. Some of those incorporated in the painting are still in popular use, for instance "Swimming against the tide", "Banging one's head against a brick wall" and "Armed to the teeth", and there are some that are familiar if not identical to the modern English usage such as "casting roses before swine". Many more have faded from use or have never been used in English. "Having one's roof tiled with tarts", for example, which meant to have an abundance of everything.
[Gemäldegalerie, Berlin - Oil on panel, 117 x 163 cm]