Carnival Scene, Louis de Caullery

At first, I thought Carnival Scene was a dark painting of a crowd gathered either to riot or to watch an execution. But I saw no guillotine, no noose. My immediate reaction was confusion. Carnivals are supposed to be bright, happy, and fun. There are no smiles on the faces of the people in the painting. Some of them are even angry. Carnival Scene is dreary, dark, and morose. It didn’t look anything like a carnival to me. I was thinking of the wrong kind of carnival. In the 17th and 18th centuries, carnival was a big week-long celebration before the Catholic Lent. The word “carnival” comes from the Latin term carnem levare meaning “to take meat away.” Mardi Gras is the modern, American version of what this was like. There are many public masked balls with cheap food and drink for both the common people and the nobles to attend. There are street parades, loud bands of musicians riding on wagons or carts, people shouting insults and making fun of the wealthy, and the slaughtering of cattle for a big feast. Carnival Scene is attributed to Louis de Caullery. The curators at the Spencer Art Museum are unsure whether or not he actually painted it. Carnival Scene is made with a similar style as his others (oil on wood) and has a similar subject. Some of his other famous works include Scène de carnaval en hiver sur la place d'une ville flamande and The Crucifixion on Mount Calvary. Not much is known about Louis de Caullery. He was born in 1580 in Caullery, France. He died in present day Belgium in 1622. Carnival Scene was painted in 1604. This painting made me feel bereft and melancholy. The dark, foreboding skies and the seemingly knowing expressions on people’s faces planted the feeling that some kind of disaster was imminent. The enigmatic painting brought many questions to mind. There is light appearing in the upper left corner. Is dawn breaking or is the day drawing to a close? Is the light a symbol of doom or a harbinger of better times? Are the dark creatures in the same corner black birds or black bats? Are the crouching people in the bottom right acting or are they actually fighting?