What is the largest sharp print size for The Netherlandish Proverbs?

At 300 dpi, this 5,649 × 4,000 px file prints up to 18.8 × 13.3 in with gallery-sharp detail. At 150 dpi the file reaches 37.7 × 26.7 in, which is poster-sharp quality.

Which standard frame sizes give gallery-sharp prints of The Netherlandish Proverbs?

Gallery-sharp (300 dpi or above) frame sizes: 10 × 8 in, 14 × 11 in, 16 × 12 in. Sharp-to-poster-quality sizes also work: 20 × 16 in, 24 × 18 in, 36 × 24 in.

Does printing The Netherlandish Proverbs require cropping the image?

Standard frame aspect ratios may not match this artwork exactly; depending on the size chosen, up to 11% of the image could be cropped. Most print-on-demand services let you adjust the crop position or add a white mat border instead.

The Netherlandish Proverbs — Pieter Bruegel the Elder | Free high-res download

The Netherlandish Proverbs

Public domain · $0.005,649 × 4,000 px · 22.6 MP

Prints gallery-sharp up to18.8 × 13.3 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 37.7 × 26.7 in at 150 dpi

The download is the original scan on Wikimedia Commons. Big file — give it a minute.

Build the wall set

Art, frame, light and hanging gear, picked together. Choose a size and finish; the wall preview shows exactly what you're getting. One button sends the whole kit to your Amazon cart.

Amazon sells the physical items, sets their prices and availability, and may pay us a commission. The free museum file is separate. How we get paid →

How big can you print it?

Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

Frame	Effective dpi	Verdict	Crops
10 × 8 in	500	Gallery sharp	11%
14 × 11 in	363	Gallery sharp	10%
16 × 12 in	333	Gallery sharp	6%
20 × 16 in	250	Sharp up close	11%
24 × 18 in	222	Sharp up close	6%
36 × 24 in	156	Poster sharp	6%
40 × 30 in	133	Fine across a room	6%

Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

The Netherlandish Proverbs is a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish, Breda (?) ca. 1525–1569 Brussels), dated 1559. Oil on oak panel. Size on the museum record: 117 × 163 cm. Held by Gemäldegalerie, Berlin; the free scan comes from Wikimedia Commons.

Every figure in the village is acting out a Dutch saying, literally. A man bangs his head on a brick wall; another tries to fill in a well after the calf has drowned; someone shears a pig, and a fellow tries to carry fire and water at once. Some proverbs are lost to history, others are still in use, and that is half the pleasure of looking. It is a visual crossword. A print this detailed repays a big format, so check the size guide on the page before you pick the frame.

The work is in the public domain, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 5,649 × 4,000 pixels — 22.6 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 18.8 × 13.3 in. The painting itself measures about 64.2 × 46.1 in, so a true life-size print runs below 300 dpi — still sharp at normal viewing distance.Paintings reproduce best on matte paper. Gloss throws glare across exactly the brushwork you came for, and a picture light does more for a print than any upgrade in paper.