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Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625) Sometimes called 'Blumen-Brueghel'
or 'Sammt-Brueghel,' also 'Fluweelen-Brueghel' ('Velvet-Brueghel), it
is said on account of his partiality for dressing in that material,
Jan Brueghel was brought up, and instructed in the art of painting in
distemper by Marie de Bessemers (the widow of Pieter Coecke van Aelst),
who was his maternal grandmother. He was afterwards instructed by Pieter
Goetkint in the use of oil. In the early part of his career he painted
flowers and fruit, in which branch of the art he had already become
celebrated, when on visiting Italy—going through Cologne, where
he stayed some time—he changed his subjects, and painted landscapes
with small figures, which were correctly drawn and touched with spirit.
On his return to Flanders, his works were regarded with much esteem.
In 1597, he entered the Guild at Antwerp. His son Jan Brueghel 'the
\younger' followed his father's profession, and always painted landscapes,
which were frequently mistaken for his father's work. In 1601 Brueghel
bought the freedom of Antwerp, and in 1602 he was dean of the Guild.
He was also a member of the 'Violet' Society. Though it is as a landscape
painter that Brueghel won most of his fame, his subject-pictures are
little behind the works of his contemporaries in that branch of art.
They are conceived with a sense of humour, and are carefully executed.
His productions were so much admired by Rubens that he solicited him
to paint the landscapes in several of his easel-pictures. One of the
most esteemed specimens of their united talents was a picture of 'Adam
and Eve in Paradise' in which the figures of Adam and Eve, and perhaps
the horse, were admirably painted by Rubens in one of the finest landscapes
of Brueghel. Brueghel performed a similar service for Van Balen and
Rottenhammer, and he painted small figures with so much neatness and
accuracy that he was invited to decorate with them the churches of Steenwijck
and the landscapes of Momper. His 'Views of Flanders' are faithful transcripts
of the scenery of the country, and his trees, plants, and even insects
are drawn and painted with the utmost precision. In art, Brueghel was
as superior to his father as the latter was to his son Pieter. He painted
scenes from peasant life, as well as demoniacal subjects, with much
success. His works display a sound knowledge of chiaroscuro. He died
at Antwerp. |
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