#60 - Pieter Bruegel the Elder ~ Wedding Dance ~ 1566
#60 - Biographical Sketch of Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569) was a Flemish renaissance painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and peasant
scenes, called genre painting. Genre paintings are scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people in work or recreation, depicted in a
generally realistic manner. Intimate scenes from daily life are almost invariably the subject of genre painting where the elimination
of imaginative content and of idealization focuses attention upon the shrewd observation of types, costumes, and settings.
Bruegel is sometimes referred to as the "Peasant Bruegel" to distinguish him from other members of the Brueghel dynasty. He
was born in the Dutch town of Breugel, and 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 painter's guild
before settling in Brussels permanently 10 years later.
Art historians also believe he received the nickname 'Peasant Bruegel' or 'Bruegel the Peasant' for his alleged practice of
dressing up like a peasant in order to mingle at weddings and other celebrations, thereby gaining inspiration and authentic details for
his genre paintings. Bruegel specialized in genre paintings populated by peasants, often with a large landscape element, but also
painted religious works. Making the life and manners of peasants the main focus of a work was rare in painting in Brueghel's time,
and he was a pioneer of the Netherlandish genre painting. 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.
In Bruegel's later years he painted in a simpler style than the Italianate art that prevailed in his time. Northern art was strongly
influenced by Italian mannerism, but despite the requisite journey to Italy for purposes of study, he was astonishingly independent of
the dominant artistic interests of his day. Instead, he deliberately revived the late Gothic style of Hieronymus Bosch as the point of
departure for his own highly complex and original art. It was in nature, however, that he found his greatest inspiration as he is
identified as being a master of landscapes. It was in these landscapes that Bruegel created a story, seeming to combine several scenes
in one painting.
In 1563 Bruegel married Mayken, the daughter of Pieter Coeck and Mayken Verhulst Bessemers. His mother-in-law was also a
painter, engaged in miniatures. Later, after the death of her son-in-law, she would give the first lessons in painting to his sons, Pieter
and Jan. Using abundant spirit and comic power, he created some of the early images of acute social protest in art history such as a
satire of the conflicts of the Reformation, and on his deathbed he reportedly ordered his wife to burn the most subversive of his
drawings to protect his family from political persecution.
He was the father of Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Elder. Both became painters. The surviving pictures of
Bruegel are few in number, under fifty. Although Bruegel was famous in his own lifetime, the archaic tone of much of his imagery
and his refusal to adopt the idealized figure style evolved by Italian Renaissance artists had, in sophisticated circles, an adverse effect
on his reputation both during his life and after his death.
#60 - Additional Works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. 1555. Oil transferred from panel to canvas. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Big Fish Eat Little Fish. 1556. Ink on paper. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, Austria
The Fight between Carnival and Lent. 1559. Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
The Alchemist. 1558. Ink on paper. Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, Germany
Children's Games. 1560. Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
#60 - Questions about Pieter Bruegel the Elder
1) What is the meaning of genre painting?
a) scenes of royalty enjoying the grounds around their palaces as backdrops for landscape paintings
b) scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people in work or recreation, depicted in a realistic manner
c) a type of painting that was popular only in Greece focusing on philosophy
d) a type of art that was prominent if Asia during the reformation
2) Why do you think Bruegel is sometimes referred to as the "Peasant Bruegel"?
a) he came from a poor family in the rural area of Flanders
b) in order to shame Bruegel into succumbing to the art traditions expected at the time
c) this is a term commonly used to bestow honor in the art world towards painters who could capture the life of peasants in their works
d) to distinguish him from other members of the Brueghel dynasty
3) Which statement best describes why Bruegel's paintings are a prime source of iconographic evidence about both physical and social
aspects of 16th century life?
a) they are unique windows on a vanished folk culture
b) they are the only sources of information pertaining to the Asian influence in Flanders
c) they are filled with imagery and code intended to usurp the crown
d) they are considered primary sources about the Northern Renaissance, only second to Plato's writings
4) Based on Bruegel being identified as a master of landscapes, which of these conclusions is accurate?
a) his portraits were no longer desired at the royal court
b) in what through sculpture that Bruegel made his name
c) it was in these landscapes that Bruegel created a story, seeming to combine several scenes in one painting
d) it was in his history paintings where Bruegel was able to convey the turmoil of his fellow countrymen
5) Which of the following is a reason for Bruegel to dress up like a peasant in order to mingle at weddings and other celebrations?
a) he had a price on his head as a result of his contributions to the revolution
b) to gain inspiration and authentic details for his paintings
c) Bruegel knew the only way to win the heart of his bride was to show his bond with the plight of the common man
d) in order to infiltrate the artist studios of his competition at the Salons