Bruegel, Pieter the Elder
Bruegel, Pieter the Elder
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.
Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638) was the elder of
two sons born just a few years before their father's death. Known as "Hell
Brueghel" because of his fascination with hobgoblins, fires, and grotesque
figures, he made his career in Antwerp, where he became a master in the guild
in 1585. He is best known as a copyist of his father's paintings, as they were
both popular and scarce. In his own canvases, such as Village Fair
and The Crucifixion, he shows a firm grasp of space and movement.
His son, Pieter Brueghel III
(1589-?1640), was also known primarily as a copyist.
Jan Brueghel (1568-1625), called the "velvet
Brueghel," was the second son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and, like his
brother Pieter Brueghel the Younger, made his career in Antwerp. Known for his
still lifes of flowers and for his landscapes, he was a friend of Peter Paul
Rubens and collaborated with him in paintings such as Adam and Eve in
Paradise. He specialized in small wooded scenes that were finely
finished and brightly colored. His style was perpetuated by his sons Jan
Brueghel II (1601-78) and Ambrosius Brueghel (1617-75), whose sons carried on
the tradition into the 18th century.
Список литературы
Для подготовки данной работы были использованы материалы с
сайта http://www.ibiblio.org/louvre/paint/