![Peter Brueghel the Elder - The Beggars [1568] by Gandalf's Gallery](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5513/9621531044_32e3313785.jpg)
The beggars are not quite ordinary beggars, as they wear carnival headgear representing various classes of society: a cardboard crown (the king), a paper shako or military cap (the soldier), a beret (the bourgeois), a cap (the peasant), and a mitre (the bishop). The work clearly has some satirical meaning, which has so far eluded interpretation. Perhaps physical imperfections are meant to symbolise moral decrepitude, which can affect all men irrespective of class. The painting dates from the end of Bruegel's career, when he showed a keener interest in the natural world. Tiny though it is, the landscape seen through the opening is bathed in a delicate light which simmers like dew on the foliage.
[Louvre Museum, Paris - Oil on panel, 185 x 215 cm]