Proverbs
by Pieter Bruegel
1528-1569
Completed:
February 2002
1,500 Pieces
23.5 inches by 35.5 inches
by Hausemann en Jötte nv. Amsterdam, Holland
Pieter Bruegel
(about 1525-69), usually known as Pieter Bruegel the Elder to distinguish him
from his elder son, was the first in a family of Flemish painters. He spelled
his name Brueghel until 1559, and his sons retained the "h" in the
spelling of their names.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, generally considered the greatest
Flemish painter of the 16th century, is by far the most important member of the
family. He was probably born in Breda in the Duchy of Brabant, now in The
Netherlands. Accepted as a master in the Antwerp painters' guild in 1551, he was
apprenticed to Coecke van Aelst, a leading Antwerp artist, sculptor, architect,
and designer of tapestry and stained glass. Bruegel traveled to Italy in 1551 or
1552, completing a number of paintings, mostly landscapes, there. Returning home
in 1553, he settled in Antwerp but ten years later moved permanently to
Brussels. He married van Aelst's daughter, Mayken, in 1563. His association with
the van Aelst family drew Bruegel to the artistic traditions of the Mechelen
(now Malines) region in which allegorical and peasant themes run strongly. His
paintings, including his landscapes and scenes of peasant life, stress the
absurd and vulgar, yet are full of zest and fine detail. They also expose human
weaknesses and follies. He was sometimes called the "peasant Bruegel"
from such works as Peasant Wedding Feast (1567).
He developed an original style that uniformly holds
narrative, or story-telling, meaning. In subject matter he ranged widely, from
conventional Biblical scenes and parables of Christ to such mythological
portrayals as Landscape with the Fall of Icarus; religious
allegories in the style of Hieronymus Bosch; and social satires. But it was in
nature that he found his greatest inspiration. His mountain landscapes have few
parallels in European art. Popular in his own day, his works have remained
consistently popular. Bruegel died in Brussels between Sept. 5 and 9, 1569.
For a website with more pictures by Bruegel, click Here.