Pieter bruegel the elder paintings. Bruegel paintings

Pieter Brueghel is a great artist of the past from the Netherlands. Also known as Bruegel " Peasant". Born in 1525 (exact date unknown), presumably in the city of Breda (Dutch province). He passed away in 1569 in Brussels. The main directions of his painting were landscapes and genre scenes. Hieronymus Bosch had a great influence on all the art of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. I must say that there were many famous and just good artists in his family, such as, for example, a son or, but it was he who was the most famous who, with his work, made a significant contribution to world art.

He began his victorious march to Olympus of world-famous artists as a graphic artist. Peter studied this skill in Antwerp in the workshop of Peter Cook van Aelst, who was a famous court painter of that time. After that, he was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of Artists and began to paint professionally. Art became his work. Then he saw the paintings for the first time, which made an indelible impression on him. After that, he created several versions on the themes of the artist's canvases and even began to imitate him in his painting, to study the technique of Bosch. So, a rather scandalous story is connected with this, when an engraving on the theme of Pieter Bruegel "Big fish eat small ones" was sold with the signature of Hieronymus Bosch for a lot of money.

His paintings are both truth and fiction. Like many artists of that time, he was dissatisfied with politics, power, laws, the permissiveness of the church, but he could not honestly talk about this, since the truth could be followed by a harsh punishment. Heretics and apostates were sentenced to martyrdom without regret. Therefore, he, like some others, preferred to express their disagreement, internal rebellion through symbolism. The encrypted messages in the paintings were understood only by those who knew how to read these images. Perhaps that is why during his lifetime he was considered "dumb." He painted wonderful pictures, but he never wrote articles, did not correspond with friends. He did not paint portraits of his wives, children and himself, and therefore practically nothing is known about him. Only his paintings and a couple of official documents have come down to us. Without a doubt, he is one of the most enigmatic artists and personalities of the past.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder died on September 5, 1569 in Brussels. He was buried in the Church of the Virgin. Today, Pieter Bruegel the Elder is one of the most famous artists of the past. His paintings are in many museums around the world, about a third of which are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Unfortunately, his canvases are absent in Russian museums.

Artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Peasant) paintings:

Mad Greta

Tower of babel

Return of the herd

Children's games

Massacre of the innocents

Peasant wedding

Peasant dance

Small tower of babel

Misanthrope

On the way to Egypt

Saul's Conversion

Hunters in the snow

Fall of angels

The fall of Icarus

Landscape with skaters and bird trap

Census in Bethlehem

Adoration of the Magi

Adoration of the Magi

Pieter Bruegel the Elder is a Dutch painter, he is the most famous painter to bear this surname. He was born presumably in 1525, lived for about 40 years, having died in 1569. Pieter Bruegel the Elder had an interesting nickname "Peasant". His paintings were most often created in such an artistic genre as a genre scene. Peter had two sons, and Jan Brueghel the Elder, who were also painters, but less famous. The exact date of birth of the artist has not been established, but the place is considered to be the city of Brad, which is now located in North Brabant. However, some historians are inclined to believe that Pieter Bruegel the Elder was born in the village of Bruegel, which is located next to the aforementioned city. His biography is filled with a variety of interesting facts. For example, the artist removed one letter in his signature in 1559, and it turned out Bruegel (originally Brueghel).

The beginning of creativity

And today Pieter Bruegel the Elder attracts with his vision of everything that happens. His paintings are kept in many museums around the world. The painter began his work with a graphic artist. While still a young man, he managed to get to the court artist who was then in power, Charles V. The painter Peter Cook van Aelst taught his ward a lot. In his workshop, Pieter Bruegel the Elder worked until the death of his teacher, who died in 1550. After the sad event, the artist entered the guild of painters and went to work for Jerome Kok, who printed engravings. made an impression on Pieter Bruegel the Elder. He was imbued with the idea of ​​the great artist and even created his own variations on his creations.

Traveling in Europe

The mentor invited Peter Bruegel the Elder to travel around Europe in order to create landscapes for engravings. What he saw greatly shocked the painter. The majestic monuments of Rome, the beauty of the landscapes of France, the masterpieces of the Renaissance and the magnificent waters of the Mediterranean Sea have left an indelible mark on the mind of Bruegel. As many scholars believe, in Rome, the artist worked with the famous miniaturist Giulio Clovio.

First paintings

In 1563 he married the daughter of a mentor, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The paintings that were written for engravings were recognized by everyone as wonderful, they were in demand. In order to please the desires of wealthy clients, Pieter Bruegel the Elder often forged signatures, for example, of Hieronymus Bosch, whose paintings he liked so much. After marriage, such as "Big fish eat small ones" and "Donkey at school" were written. In 1557, Pieter Bruegel the Elder created several prints, which depicted in 1563, having already gained experience, the artist moved with his family to Brussels.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was distinguished by the versatility of his work, he wrote almost everything. However, there were things that the artist basically did not paint for unknown reasons. So, Pieter Bruegel the Elder never painted portraits and nudes. His paintings almost always corresponded to this principle. The only portrait that this painter painted is "The Head of a Peasant Woman". Although, undoubtedly, orders for portraits came in large numbers. The nickname "Peasant" Pieter Bruegel the Elder received in order not to confuse him with his son.

Service to the fatherland

The artist painted pictures reflecting the problems of society and the vices of people. It was the renaissance of Pieter Bruegel the Elder that became the pinnacle. One of the brightest and greatest artists, if not the world, then certainly the Netherlands, he put a meaning hidden from the eyes into each creation. The artist's paintings can only be understood from a philosophical point of view. One of the main directions was the fight against The artist's works are designed to convey to all the suffering for the fate of every person. Sometimes too cruel, the paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder are so attractive to people. They tell the truth about the world. However, not everything in the works is so gloomy, the artist does not give up hope for the salvation of people, he dreams and conveys to people the idea of ​​harmony, the structure of the world on the basis of morality.

The meaning of the paintings

During the life of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, the Inquisition flourished in Europe. Everywhere, especially in small towns, people were brutally killed for the slightest denunciation of them. Heretics, as the executioners believed them, were burned at the stake, buried alive in the ground, drowned and subjected to terrible torture. For any denunciation, even not supported by facts, they paid very well, so people often gave up even their loved ones to be torn apart by the Inquisition. Many paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder tell about all this.

End of life

The artist died in 1569 in Brussels. His most recent creation was The Triumph of Truth (in the words of van Mander, writer and artist). He also claims that this picture was the best for Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

List of some paintings:

• Nest Busters;
• "Peasant Dance";
• "Peasant Wedding";
• "Misanthrope";
• "The Parable of the Blind";
• "Magpie on the Gallows";
• Three Soldiers;
• "Cripples";
• "The Conversion of Saul";
• "Adoration of the Magi in a Winter Landscape";
• "A wedding dance".

The most famous creation

According to many connoisseurs, the best creation is "Flemish Proverbs". This painting was created in 1559, it tells about funny incidents in the life of people. Mareinissen, the famous art critic, deciphered the hidden meaning of the actions of each person in the picture. "Flemish Proverbs" tell in an allegorical form about the life, characters, thoughts of people. For example: “She would have tied the devil to the pillow” - she is not afraid of either God or the devil: this shrew is able to curb the most obstinate fellow; stubborn as hell. "Gnaws a pillar" - a hypocrite, a pillar of the church, a bigot, a saint. And so absolutely about each character in the picture.

The Tower of Babel

Many of the creations are among the most famous in the world, created by Bruegel Peter the Elder. The Tower of Babel is one of them. Written in 1563, today it is kept in Vienna. It is easy to guess that the picture tells about one of the Biblical stories: about the mixing of different languages ​​and about the scattering of people. Pieter Bruegel the Elder was the best able to portray a majestic tower, which seems to be eternal. People wanted to ascend to God, but they failed.

The painting "Adoration of the Kings"

The painting was painted in 1564. It belongs to the Biblical. It depicts Jesus Christ when he was still a baby, with the Mother of God, and rich people present various gifts to the Son of God. Another title of the work is The Adoration of the Magi. The painting is kept in London, at the National Gallery.

Painting "Children's games"

This creation was created by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1560. The painting "Children's Games" depicts a street on which a huge number of children are playing. As in all the works of the painter, there is a hidden meaning here. The essence of the picture is that the artist compares the lives of people with the games of children. Thus, Pieter Bruegel the Elder shows how petty human existence is. The children in the picture do not have smiles, they depict actions that are usually performed by adults, and, like them, are completely devoted to the game of life.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Dutch. Pieter Bruegel de Oude, IPA: [ˈpitər ˈbrøːɣəl]; c. 1525 - September 9, 1569, Brussels), also known with the nickname "Peasant" - a Dutch painter and graphic artist, the most famous and significant of those who bore this surname artists. Master of landscape and genre scenes. Father of the artists Pieter Brueghel the Younger ("Infernal") and Jan Brueghel the Elder ("Paradise").

BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST

Pieter Bruegel was probably born between 1525 and 1530 (exact date unknown). The place of his birth is most often called the city of Breda (in the modern Dutch province of North Brabant) or the village of Bruegel near this city.

He began his creative biography as a graphic artist. By the mid-1540s, he ended up in Antwerp, where he studied in the workshop of Peter Cook van Aelst, the court painter of Emperor Charles V. In the workshop of Van Aelst Bruegel worked until the death of his teacher in 1550.

In 1551 Bruegel was admitted to the Antwerp guild of painters and went to work in the workshop of Hieronymus Cock, who printed and sold prints. In Coca's studio, the artist saw prints from the paintings, which made such an impression on him that he painted his own variations on the themes of the great artist.

In 1552-1553, at the suggestion of Coca, Bruegel traveled to France, Italy, Switzerland to make a series of drawings of Italian landscapes, intended for reproduction in engraving. He was shocked by the ancient monuments of Rome and the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the sea elements and the picturesque harbors of the Mediterranean. Presumably in Rome, he worked with the miniaturist Giulio Clovio.

In 1563 Bruegel married the daughter of his teacher Van Aalst, Maria (Maiken).

In 1556 Bruegel worked in Antwerp for the Four Winds printing workshop owned by the Dutch publisher Hieronymus Cock. According to Bruegel's drawings, engravings "Big fish eat small ones" and "Donkey at school" were made here. Wanting to please the tastes of wealthy customers, Kok did not even hesitate to forge signatures on engravings. Thus, the engraving "Big fish eat small ones" was sold with the signature of the famous Dutch artist.

In 1557, Bruegel wrote a series of prints illustrating the seven deadly sins.

In 1563 he moved with his family to Brussels.

In 1565, the series "Pictures of the Months or Seasons" was written, from which only five works have survived. In the late medieval illustrated prayer books for the nobility, religious texts were often preceded by a calendar, where there was a page for each month. The change of seasons was most often portrayed through the prism of the activities corresponding to each month. But for Bruegel, nature plays the main role in the change of seasons, and people, like forests, mountains, water, animals, become only part of the boundless landscape.

“The return of the herds. Autumn ”,“ Hunters in the Snow. Winter "and" Haymaking "- the same format and, possibly, made for one customer. The other two are “The Harvest. Summer ”and“ Gloomy Day. Spring". Karel van Mander calls the client of the entire series of "Months" the wealthy Antwerp merchant Nicholas Jongelink, who then, urgently needing a large sum of money, pledged all these paintings and never bought them.

Peter Bruegel was about forty when the army of the Spanish Duke of Alba, with the order to destroy the heretics in the Netherlands, entered Brussels. Over the following years, Alba sentenced several thousand Dutchmen to death. The last years of his life were spent in an atmosphere of terror imposed by Alba. About one of Bruegel's last works, The Magpie on the Gallows, van Mander writes that: “He bequeathed to his wife a painting with a magpie on the gallows. Forty means the gossips he would like to see hanged. " The gallows were associated with Spanish rule, when the authorities began to sentence predictors to shameful death by hanging, and the terror of Alba itself was based almost exclusively on rumors and denunciations.

The Massacre of Babies depicts a sinister man in black overseeing the execution of King Herod's orders; this person is very similar to Alba; hence, the artist compares King Philip II to Herod.

The artist died on September 5, 1569 in Brussels. Buried in the Brussels church of Notre Dame de la Chapelle.

Of all the surviving Bruegel's paintings, about a third are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. There are no Bruegel's works in Russia.

CREATION

More than thirty of approximately forty-five paintings by Brueghel (or attributed to him) are devoted to the depiction of nature, the village and its inhabitants. The faceless representatives of the rural lower classes become the protagonists of his works: in his drawings, he often hides their faces altogether.

None of the artists previously dared to create works on such topics. But many of his later works testify to the artist's growing interest in individual figures. The artist begins to paint large figures of people in relation to whom the environment already plays a subordinate role. Such paintings include "The Parable of the Blind", "The Destroyer of Nests" (another name is "The Peasant and the Destroyer of Nests"), "Cripples" and "The Misanthrope".

Worship of the Magi

The fantastic canvases of Hieronymus Bosch helped the artist find artistic means to depict what was happening in his homeland.

In The Adoration of the Magi, the artist in an allegorical form showed that the birth of a child does not cause joy if war and death reign in the world, the compositional center of a picture completely filled with people is the sad figure of the Virgin Mary with the Child on her knees. She is wrapped in a blue cloak, and her face is almost invisible. Her figure, painted in cold colors, contrasts with the environment, decided in warm colors, and therefore involuntarily attracts the attention of the viewer. Behind her, a light silhouette rises the figure of Joseph, attentively listening to the whispering of a casual passer-by. There are three wise men in front of Mary. Two, kneeling, are holding out their gifts to the Christ Child.

Their senile expressions are like grimaces. On the left side of Madonna Belshazzar. His dark, negro face contrasts sharply with his white robes. At the entrance, inside and around the barn, where Mary gave birth to the Christ Child, people mock the event, their expressions are extremely cruel. Among them there are many soldiers with pikes, the points of which are directed towards the sky. Thus, the artist, as it were, transfers the Birth of Christ to the modern Netherlands, embraced by war. Bruegel's artistic images are overloaded with semantic content: hints of topicality, biblical allegory, the imagination of the artist himself - all this is included in the narrow framework of one work.

Bruegel's creations require intense attention from the viewer, disturb with their ambiguity, awaken the imagination.

All this gives his painting The Adoration of the Magi, which is kept in the London National Gallery, the deepest meaning.

HARVEST

There are five known paintings by Bruegel (1525 / 1530-1569), dedicated to the seasons, and one of them is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art "Harvest". She, like the others, was commissioned by the artist's long-term patron, Niklas Jongelink, for his house near Antwerp.

This series reflects the medieval tradition of decorating calendars with images of human activities related to a particular month of the year. "Harvest" is believed to correspond to August. At the same time, this is already a purely Renaissance work, the influence of Italian Renaissance painting is noticeable in it, the wealth of which Bruegel could see during his travels. However, everything perceived by him was greatly reworked, and his own, Bruegelian, perception of the world comes to the fore. Take at least the fact that none of his contemporaries created such landscapes and panoramic paintings of peasant labor.

The freely spreading landscape - a golden sea of ​​wheat, a village and yellow fields in the distance - goes into a misty haze, to a distant lake. This space is inhabited by people who reap, knit sheaves, carry a huge cart of wheat, eat and sleep under a tree and there, in the village, are also engaged in economic affairs. Bruegel often visited the countryside and knew peasant life well. She was a constant source of inspiration for him.

Knowing how to mercilessly expose the bad sides of human nature, Bruegel portrayed peasants with sympathy and admiration for their work and rest.

Here, as in the rest of the works of the cycle, the balance between nature and man is emphasized, which is achieved only by a worthy life. Bruegel unobtrusively brings the world to the conclusion on what agreement between man and nature - read God - is held by his painting.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder Self-portrait with the customer ("Artist and Connoisseur") Birth name: Pieter Brueghel Date of birth: 1525 Place of birth: Breda (?) ... Wikipedia

Bruegel, the Elder Peter- P. Bruegel. Peasant dance. Museum of Art History. Vein. Bruegel the Elder, or Peasant (Bruegel de Oude, Boeren Brueghel), Peter (between 1525 and 1530 1569), Dutch painter and draftsman. Created a deeply national art, ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Or Bruegel "Peasant" (Bruegel de Oude, Boeren Brueghel), (between 1525 and 1530 1569), Dutch painter and draftsman. He creatively reworked the lessons of Italian painting of the 16th century, created a deeply national art based on ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

This term has other meanings, see Bruegel. Pieter Bruegel the Younger Portrait by Anthony van Dyck D ... Wikipedia

Bruegel the Elder, Pieter Pieter Brueghel the Elder Self-portrait with the customer ("The Artist and the Connoisseur") Birth name: Pieter Brueghel ... Wikipedia

Self-portrait with the customer ("Artist and Connoisseur") Birth name: Pieter Brueghel Date of birth: 1525 Place of birth: Breda (?) ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Bruegel. Jan Brueghel the Elder ... Wikipedia

Or Muzhitsky (Bruegel de Oude, Boeren Brueghel), Peter (between 1525 and 1530 1569), Dutch painter and draftsman. He creatively reworked the lessons of Italian painting of the 16th century, created a deeply national art based on the Dutch ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Brueghel, Pieter) (c. 1525 1569), the last great Renaissance painter in the Netherlands. The biography of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, written in 1604 by the Dutch artist and historian biographer Karel van Mander, is the main source ... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Bruegel the Elder- (Peasant), Peter (Bruegel de Oude, Boeren Brueghel, Pieter) Ok. 1525, p. Bruegel 1569, Brussels. Dutch painter and draftsman. Studied under P. Cooke van Aelst in Antwerp. He worked in Antwerp (in the guild of painters of St. Luke from 1551) and ... ... European Art: Painting. Sculpture. Graphics: Encyclopedia

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• Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Astakhov YA .. Pieter Bruegel the Elder is a brilliant representative of the Northern Renaissance, whose work reflected the national identity of the life of his homeland. In less than ten years, he created magnificent ...
• Pieter Bruegel the Elder,. Pieter Bruegel the Elder is a brilliant representative of the Northern Renaissance, whose work reflected the national identity of the life of his homeland. In less than ten years, he created magnificent ...

) or the village of Bruegel near this town.

Originally the artist's surname was written Brueghel(this spelling was preserved in the names of his children), but in 1559 he began to sign his paintings Bruegel.

He began his creative career as a graphic artist, and by the mid-1540s he ended up in Antwerp, where he studied in the workshop of Peter Cook van Aelst, the court painter of Emperor Charles V.

In the workshop of Van Aelst Bruegel worked until the death of his teacher in 1550. In 1551 Bruegel was admitted to the Antwerp guild of painters and went to work in the workshop of Hieronymus Cock, who printed and sold prints. In Coca's studio, the artist saw prints from Bosch's paintings, which made such an impression on him that he painted his own variations on the themes of the great artist.

As far as we know, Bruegel did not paint commissioned portraits and nudity. Of the portraits attributed to Bruegel, only one undoubtedly belongs to him - "Portrait of an Old Woman" (1564, Alte Pinakothek). Surely the artist had no shortage of orders for portraits of his contemporaries, but apparently, Bruegel did not accept them.

In 1564, the painting "Adoration of the Magi" was painted, and in 1565 - a cycle of six paintings "The Seasons" (or "Twelve Months"), one of which has now been lost. In the late medieval illustrated prayer books for the nobility, religious texts were often preceded by a calendar, where there was a page for each month. The change of seasons was most often portrayed through the prism of the activities corresponding to each month. But for Bruegel, nature plays the main role in the change of seasons, and people, like forests, mountains, water, animals, become only part of the boundless landscape. All the pictures in the cycle are “Return of the Herds. Autumn ”,“ Hunters in the Snow. Winter "," Haymaking "," Harvest. Summer ”and“ Gloomy Day. Spring ”- the same format and, probably, made for one customer. Karel van Mander calls them the rich Antwerp merchant Nicholas Jongelink, who later, urgently needing a large sum of money, gave all the paintings as a pledge and never bought them back.

More than thirty of Bruegel's approximately forty-five paintings (or attributed to him) are dedicated to the depiction of nature, the village and its inhabitants. The faceless representatives of the rural lower classes become the protagonists of his works: in his drawings, he often hides their faces altogether. But many of his later works testify to the artist's growing interest in individual characters. The artist begins to paint large figures of people in relation to whom the environment already plays a subordinate role. Such paintings include "The Parable of the Blind", "The Destroyer of Nests" (another name is "The Peasant and the Destroyer of Nests"), "Cripples" and "The Misanthrope".

Peter Bruegel was about forty when the army of the Spanish Duke of Alba entered Brussels with orders to destroy the heretics in the Netherlands. Over the following years, Alba sentenced several thousand Dutchmen to death. The last years of his life were spent in an atmosphere of terror imposed by Alba. About one of Bruegel's last works - "Magpie on the Gallows" (1568, Museum of the Land of Hesse) - van Mander writes that "he bequeathed to his wife a picture with a magpie on the gallows. Forty means the gossips he would like to see hanged. " The gallows were associated with Spanish rule, when the authorities began to sentence predictors to shameful death by hanging, and the terror of Alba itself was based almost exclusively on rumors and denunciations. The Massacre of Babies depicts a sinister man in black overseeing the execution of King Herod's orders; the character's resemblance to Alba hints at a comparison between King Philip II and Herod.

Van Mander also reports on Bruegel's last painting, The Triumph of Truth, which has not come down to our time, which he calls the best in the artist's work.