Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Netherlands

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was the most important Flemish painter of the 16th century.

💡 Did you know? Exactly where he was born is unknown: not even a certain self-portrait survives.

16th century

Bruegel worked in Antwerp and Brussels during Spanish rule over the Netherlands.

💡 Did you know? Some of his paintings are read as veiled criticism of the harsh Spanish occupation.

Peasant Bruegel

He painted ordinary people with a keen, humorous eye.

💡 Did you know? Bruegel supposedly mingled in disguise among peasants at weddings in order to study them closely.

teeming scenes

Bruegel filled his panels with dozens of tiny figures all busy at something: you keep spotting new details.

💡 Did you know? In "Netherlandish Proverbs" he hid over a hundred sayings.

journey over the Alps

The mountain landscapes reappear later in his pictures.

💡 Did you know? After his journey to Italy across the Alps, Bruegel painted vast mountain panoramas unknown in the flat Netherlands.

a dynasty of painters

He himself died as early as 1569.

💡 Did you know? His sons Pieter the Younger and Jan also became famous painters: the Bruegel dynasty lasted generations.

The Hunters in the Snow

Around 1565: one of the finest winter scenes in art history.

💡 Did you know? Part of a cycle of the seasons; the icy winter scene became an icon, quoted even by filmmakers.

Netherlandish Proverbs

Around 1559: over a hundred proverbs as painted scenes.

💡 Did you know? Over 100 Flemish proverbs are painted here as little scenes, such as „banging your head against a wall.“

The Tower of Babel

Painted around 1563.

💡 Did you know? Bruegel's tower resembles the Roman Colosseum, which he had seen on his journey to Italy.

The Triumph of Death

Painted around 1560.

💡 Did you know? An army of skeletons herds all humanity together: a painted apocalypse in the age of the plague.

The Peasant Wedding

Painted around 1568.

💡 Did you know? The couple is hard to find: the bride sits beneath the crown, while by old custom the groom is nearly absent.

The Blind Leading the Blind

Painted around 1568.

💡 Did you know? Six blind men tumble one after another into the ditch: after the Gospel: „if the blind lead the blind.“

The Magpie on the Gallows

Painted around 1568.

💡 Did you know? Bruegel bequeathed this painting to his wife; the magpie is said to stand for gossip that leads to the gallows.

The Harvesters

Painted around 1565.

💡 Did you know? Part of the seasons cycle; it is considered one of the first pure landscapes without a religious pretext.

Children's Games

Around 1560: dozens of old children's games at a glance.

💡 Did you know? Around 80 different children's games are recorded here: many still played today.

The Massacre of the Innocents

Painted around 1566.

💡 Did you know? Bruegel set the biblical massacre in a snow-covered Flemish village with Spanish soldiers.

Dull Gret

Painted around 1561.

💡 Did you know? A woman in armour charges before the mouth of hell: „Dulle Griet“ as an emblem of greed and madness.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525 to 1569) was the foremost Netherlandish painter of his time, famous for his crowded peasant and landscape scenes.

💡 Did you know? On his deathbed Bruegel reportedly had some too-critical drawings burned to protect his family.