Portrait of Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Pieter Bruegel the Elder Painting Reproductions 2 of 4

c.1525-1569

Flemish Northern Renaissance Painter

Pieter Bruegel the Elder or Brueghel (c.1525 - September 9, 1569) was a Netherlandish Renaissance painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (Genre Painting). He is nicknamed 'Peasant Bruegel' to distinguish him from other members of the Bruegel dynasty, but is also the one generally meant when the context does not make clear which "Bruegel" is being referred to. From 1559 he dropped the 'h' from his name and started signing his paintings as Bruegel.

Life
There are records that he was born in Breda, Netherlands, but it is uncertain whether the Dutch town of Breda or the Belgian town of Bree, called Breda in Latin, is meant. He was the son of a peasant residing in the village of Breugel. He was an apprentice of Pieter Coecke van Aelst, whose daughter Mayken he later married. He spent some time in France and Italy, and then went to Antwerp, where in 1551 he was accepted as a master in the painters' guild. He traveled to Italy soon after, and then returned to Antwerp before settling in Brussels permanently 10 years later. He died there on 9 September 1569. Other accounts give 1590 as the date of his death.

He was the father of Pieter Bruegel the Younger and Jan Bruegel the Elder. Both became painters, but as they were very young children when their father died, neither received any training from him. According to Carel van Mander, it is likely that they were instructed by their grandmother.

Style
In Bruegel's later years he painted in a simpler style than the Italianate art that prevailed in his time. The most obvious influence on his art is the older Dutch master Hieronymus Bosch, particularly in Bruegel's early "demonological" paintings such as The Triumph of Death and Dulle Griet (Mad Meg). It was in nature, however, that he found his greatest inspirations as he is identified as being a master of landscapes. It was in these landscapes that Bruegel created a story, with almost several scenes seemingly combined in one painting. Such works can be seen in The Fall of the Rebel Angels and the previously mentioned The Triumph of Death.

Themes
Bruegel specialized in landscapes populated by peasants. He is often credited as being the first Western painter to paint landscapes for their own sake, rather than as a backdrop to a religious allegory.

Attention to the life and manners of peasants was rare in the arts in Bruegel's time. His earthy, unsentimental but vivid depiction of the rituals of village life including agriculture, hunts, meals, festivals, dances, and games are unique windows on a vanished folk culture and a prime source of iconographic evidence about both physical and social aspects of 16th century life. For example, the painting Netherlandish Proverbs illustrates dozens of then-contemporary aphorisms, and Children's Games shows the variety of amusements enjoyed by young people. His winter landscapes of 1565 are taken as corroborative evidence of the severity of winters during the Little Ice Age.

Using abundant spirit and comic power, he created some of the early images of acute social protest in art history. Examples include paintings such as The Fight Between Carnival and Lent (a satire of the conflicts of the Reformation) and engravings like The Ass in the School and Strongboxes Battling Piggybanks. On his deathbed he reportedly ordered his wife to burn the most subversive of his drawings to protect his family from political persecution.

87 Bruegel the Elder Paintings

The Beekeepers, 1567 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Beekeepers 1567

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6419
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 20.3 x 30.9 cm
Gemaldegalerie, Berlin, Germany

The Fair on St. George's Day, c.1559/60 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Fair on St. George's Day c.1559/60

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6420
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 33.6 x 52.4 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA

Luxury, n.d. by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Luxury n.d.

Paper Art Print
$47.91
SKU: BEP-6421
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Anger, n.d. by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Anger n.d.

Paper Art Print
$47.91
SKU: BEP-6422
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Everyman, n.d. by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Everyman n.d.

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6423
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

The Penitent Magdalene, c.1555/57 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Penitent Magdalene c.1555/57

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6424
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

The Procession to Calvary, 1564 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Procession to Calvary 1564

Oil Painting
$19671
Canvas Print
$54.67
SKU: BEP-6425
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 124 x 170 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

The Parable of the Sower, 1557 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Parable of the Sower 1557

Oil Painting
$5823
Canvas Print
$77.14
SKU: BEP-6426
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 73.6 x 102.8 cm
Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, USA

The Census at Bethlehem (Detail), n.d. by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Census at Bethlehem (Detail) n.d.

Canvas Print
$66.11
SKU: BEP-6427
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: unknown
Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium

Small Fortified Island, Amsterdam, 1562 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Small Fortified Island, Amsterdam 1562

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6428
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Avarice, from The Seven Deadly Sins, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Avarice, from The Seven Deadly Sins 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6429
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.2 x 29.4 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1556 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Temptation of Saint Anthony 1556

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6430
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 24.2 x 32 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Envy, from The Seven Deadly Sins, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Envy, from The Seven Deadly Sins 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6431
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.5 x 29.5 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Gluttony, from The Seven Deadly Sins, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Gluttony, from The Seven Deadly Sins 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6432
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.4 x 29.5 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

The Fall of the Magical Hermogenes, 1565 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Fall of the Magical Hermogenes 1565

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6433
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.5 x 29 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Man of War between two Galleys, 1565 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Man of War between two Galleys 1565

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6434
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 21.2 x 27.8 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Christ in Hell, c.1561 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Christ in Hell c.1561

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6435
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 23.4 x 29.2 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, c.1560 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins c.1560

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6436
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22 x 29 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Charity, from The Seven Virtues, 1559 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Charity, from The Seven Virtues 1559

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6437
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.4 x 29.5 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

The Last Judgement, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Last Judgement 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6438
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.4 x 29 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Sloth, from the Seven Deadly Sins, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Sloth, from the Seven Deadly Sins 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6439
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.5 x 29.3 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Pride, from The Seven Deadly Sins, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Pride, from The Seven Deadly Sins 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6440
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.2 x 29 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Lust, from The Seven Deadly Sins, 1558 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

Lust, from The Seven Deadly Sins 1558

Paper Art Print
$47.47
SKU: BEP-6441
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 22.5 x 29.5 cm
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

The Suicide of Saul (Selbstmord Sauls), 1562 by Bruegel the Elder | Painting Reproduction

The Suicide of Saul (Selbstmord Sauls) 1562

Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: BEP-6442
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Original Size: 33.5 x 55 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

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