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Despair and anguish

This scene is pure emotion. The bloodied body of Jesus has just been taken down from the cross and will be laid in the tomb. The dramatic scene was intended to encourage compassion and reflection in those who looked at it.

Lifelike

Cradles like this were usually found in nunneries. At Christmas time, the sisters would rock the cradle as if there was a real baby in it.

A procession of figurines

Retables with their numerous figurines are a beautiful sight. Large examples were intended to be placed on an altar or attached to the wall behind an altar. Smaller pieces like this were for private use.

Gilded elegance

This is painting and sculpture together in one beautiful work: a gilded retable in the form of an elegant tower. A very wealthy client must have commissioned it – perhaps from the circle of the dukes of Burgundy.

A lavish still life

Still lifes are a real treat. The genre flourished in 17th-century Netherlandish painting. The challenge for the painter was to make everything look truly lifelike...

Pissing at the moon

Pieter Bruegel had a thing about sayings and proverbs. And a sense of humour too. This is clear from these twelve little paintings, which together represent one of his 45 or so works.

The print-maker

Museum Mayer van den Bergh has around thirty prints designed by Bruegel. He became famous for his prints, only taking up painting later on...

Pieter’s son Pieter

Pieter’s two sons also become painters. Jan Bruegel went his own way and became a famous painter of landscapes, animals, flower arrangements, and so on. He also worked closely with and was a good friend of his fellow Antwerper Rubens. Pieter Bruegel the Younger, Jan’s older brother, mainly copied work by his father.

Pieter’s son Pieter

Pieter’s two sons also become painters. Jan Bruegel went his own way and became a famous painter of landscapes, animals, flower arrangements, and so on. He also worked closely with and was a good friend of his fellow Antwerper Rubens. Pieter Bruegel the Younger, Jan’s older brother, mainly copied work by his father.

Copying

Certain of Pieter Bruegel’s works remained very popular for a while after his death. Among others, his elder son Pieter copied them in his studio.