The life and times of Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1526/30-1569) were
marked by stark cultural conflict. He witnessed religious wars, the Duke
of Alba's brutal rule as governor of the Netherlands, and the palpable
effects of the Inquisition. To this day, the Flemish artist remains
shrouded in mystery. We know neither where nor exactly when he was born.
But while early scholarship emphasized the vernacular character of his
painting and graphic work, modern research has attached greater
importance to its humanistic content.
Starting out as a print designer for publisher Hieronymus Cock, Bruegel
produced numerous print series that were distributed throughout Europe.
These depicted vices and virtues alongside jolly peasant festivals and
sweeping landscape panoramas. He would eventually increasingly turn to
painting, working for the cultural elite of Antwerp and Brussels.
This monograph is a testament to Bruegel's evolution as an artist, one
who bravely confronted the issues of his day all the while proposing new
inventions and solutions. Rather than idealizing reality, he addressed
the horrors of religious warfare and took a critical stand against the
institution of the Church. To this end, he developed his own pictorial
language of dissidence, lacing innocuous everyday scenes with subliminal
statements in order to escape repercussions.
This collection captures all the breadth and splendid detail of
Bruegel's oeuvre like never before, and gathers all 40 paintings, 65
drawings, and 89 engravings in pristine reproductions--each piece a
unique witness to both the religious mores and the close-knit folk
culture of Bruegel's time.
