Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird Trap (detail)
1565
Oil on panel
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
People are enjoying themselves on the ice; meanwhile, the birds are endangered through a door rigged to function as a deadfall. Since several of the birds have been painted as large as the people in the picture, some would interpret this work not only as depicting a winter landscape but also - primarily - as being intended as a warning to the observer to be on his guard against constant danger.