Television painting icon Bob Ross famously said, “It’s the imperfections that make something beautiful.” In “Ugly Pretty,” leading artists, art professionals, and creatives delve into the idea of imperfect beauty by analyzing a single artwork. Through their perspectives, we uncover how these unique works reshape the way we view the world. Listen as they describe the artwork in their own words.

One of my favorite paintings is The Harvesters by Bruegel the Elder. It was painted in the 1500s, around 1565. The painting depicts life during the harvest season—July or August—and you can almost feel the intense summer heat radiating from it.

What fascinates me is how, when I first saw it at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, I was immediately drawn to the foreground. Bruegel has this incredible ability to create paintings that you can revisit repeatedly, discovering new details each time. The more you look, the more the intricate beauty of his work reveals itself.

Years later, while working at Google Arts and Culture, where I still work today, we captured The Harvesters using our gigapixel zoom art camera. This technology allows you to zoom in and explore the painting in incredible detail. To this day, I love exploring it, discovering the many hidden scenes within the composition. Bruegel’s work is so layered with stories—it’s not just about the foreground but everything happening in the background that might not be immediately visible to the casual viewer.

To me, imperfect beauty is something that maybe isn’t immediately visible. I mean, this [painting] is obviously beautiful. But it’s about spending time with something and discovering what you see. There’s this scene in The Harvesters painting, when you zoom in and see the detail [in the background], you notice a scene with water—I don’t know if it’s a lake—where there are what appear to be monks bathing. And there are women there, and I don’t think they are fully clothed, and you can tell there is something kind of going on here. It seems they’re taking a break from the intense heat, but what else?

What intrigues me is how Bruegel captures this private, almost rebellious and playful act. Bathing with such nudity might not have been considered acceptable at the time, so perhaps there’s a commentary or message embedded in the scene. I find that element of rebellion fascinating and it speaks to this moment of high summer when, despite the hard work around which the scene is based, there is time for relaxation and even rule-breaking.

There’s another moment in the top left corner where people are playing a traditional game. These glimpses of everyday life add so much depth and make the painting endlessly engaging. You don’t notice them immediately, but they’re there, waiting to be discovered.

Detail of Brueghel’s The Harvesters. Screen grab via Google Arts and Culture.

Nothing compares to seeing a painting in person, but technology adds a new dimension. It lets us go beyond what only experts might have been able to study before, allowing anyone to see the level of detail down to the brushstrokes. With Bruegel, this is particularly impactful because his paintings have so much going on. Spending time exploring the finer details using technology complements the experience of viewing the artwork in a museum. It’s an opportunity for everyone to connect with these masterpieces on a deeper level.

As told to Margaret Carrigan at Art For Tomorrow in Venice (June 5–7, 2024), where Artnet was an official content partner. Audio production provided by executive producer Sonia Manalili.

Freya Salway leads Google Arts and Culture’s lab, collaborating globally with artists, technologists, and institutions to apply advanced technologies in arts and culture. Since 2018, she has supported A.I. art experimentation through residencies and partnerships. Previously, she consulted on creative projects and led arts partnerships for Sky Arts, the U.K.’s arts-focused T.V. channel.