This painting depicts a battle of death and his army of skeletons against living people.
In the middle of the painting, we see a skeleton holding a scythe.
A scythe is a tool with a long blade that farmers use to cut plants from the stem.
The skeleton with the scythe represents death.
Death is riding a reddish horse.
Death leads his army of skeletons to kill the living people.
Death pushes the people towards a large coffin with a cross on the right side of the painting.
A coffin is a wooden box in which corpses are buried.
Death and his army of skeletons strike and kill the living people without distinguishing who they are or what sins they committed during their lives.
Some people fight not to die, and others do not fight and let the skeletons kill them.
Some people realise they are about to die.
There is a couple on the bottom right of the painting.
The man plays a musical instrument called a lute while the woman sings.
They do not realise that there is a skeleton playing the violin behind them.
Bruegel painted this work to teach people that we all will die, and there is no difference whether you are a soldier, ruler, or peasant.
In the painting, we can see peasants and an emperor at the bottom left.
The painting by Bruegel depicts a landscape that creates a sense of depth.
In the background, we see battles on dark brown ground with several red fires that stand out.
All of this creates an impression of a place that resembles hell.
