Everyman

Pieter van der Heyden after Pieter Bruegel the Elder

National Gallery of Art

This is a detailed print of a cluttered scene with various bags, baskets, containers, and strange objects piled on the ground outside of a building. Some of the objects include a chessboard, a book, a bucket, dice, playing cards, scissors, cushions, and other tools. Three men seem to be rummaging through this pile, opening sacks and baskets and bending down to look in them. In the center, one of the men seems to hold a lantern as he walks among the objects, looking down. On the left, stairs seem to lead up to the building. Two people stand on these stairs, seeming engaged in tug-of-war with a long strip of cloth. Next to them, on the wall of the building, seems to be a poster showing a man standing among several broken and discarded objects, with a line of text at the bottom. In the background on the right, there is an open, outdoor area with a tree, a distant building, and a tall fence with several tents in front of it. A large army seems to have gathered around the tents, some holding weapons and some holding flags. Below the print are several lines of text.