Before Bruegel: Sebald Beham and the origins of peasant festival imagery

Peasant festival imagery began in sixteenth-century Nuremberg, when the city played host to a series of religious and secular festivals.

The peasant festival images were first produced as woodcut prints in the decade between 1524 and 1535 by Sebald Beham.

These peasant festival prints show celebrating in a variety of ways including dancing, eating and drinking, and playing games.