The Blind Leading the Blind

The Blind Leading the Blind (The Parable of the Blind)
Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder; Tempera on canvas; Size: 86x154 cm; Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples.

The Blind Leading the Blind is an oil painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, dating from 1568 and housed in the Capodimonte Museum in Italy.
"Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?": these are the words of the Gospel to which this painting of 1568 refers, and it may also allude to a Flemish proverb that advised people always to walk with great care, be steady on their feet and never put their complete trust in anyone but God. This interpretation is also justified by the presence, in the background, of a small church and the hurdy-gurdy, a musical instrument and symbol of moral blindness. In a device typical of Italian painting and the theater, one of the figures seeks to involve the observer: in fact the beggar who is about to fall over turns his gaze out of the famous painting, but the diagonal composition suggests that his companions will meet the same fate as the leader of the procession, falling inevitably into the same hole.