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A shadowy life

We know much less about the great Pieter Bruegel than we do, for example, about Rubens, who lived two generations later. We have many of Rubens’ letters and he left a very extensive body of work. This is not the case with Bruegel. So what do we actually know about him?

Mad Meg

A horror film in painted form

You never grow tired of looking at Pieter Bruegel’s world-famous painting Mad Meg. There’s always something new to see and experience.

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.

The Census at Bethlehem

The Museum Mayer van den Bergh has two popular paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder that his son liked to – and frequently did – copy: The Census at Bethlehem is one of these.

Winter Landscape

A small snowy landscape was probably Pieter Bruegel’s most popular composition. We know of more than a hundred copies of it, many of which come from his son’s studio. The copy in the Museum Mayer van den Bergh is a beautiful example.

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