Brueghel Peter Jr .: biography and paintings

Bruegel Peter Jr. (1564 / 65-1636), a painter from Flemish, had the nickname of Hell. He is known for numerous copies of the works of his father, Peter Bruegel, Sr., as well as original works. A large number of copies were prepared for sale at home, and also went abroad. This contributed to the international recognition of his father's paintings. In the portrait of van Dyck, Brueghel Peter Jr. appears before us. A picture of the picture and shows its beautiful appearance, and gives a character as a wise man's life.

Peter Bruegel Jr .: Biography

The son of Peter Bruegel, Sr. nicknamed Peasant and his wife, Maiken Alst, was born in Brussels and lost his father at the age of five. Together with his brother Jan (who was called Velvet, Paradise or Blooming) and his sister Marie, he began to live with his grandmother, Meike Verhulst. Grandmother was the widow of the prolific artist Peter Cook van Alst. She herself was an experienced artist, known for her miniatures. Perhaps Karel van Mander, Maiken Verhulst, a Flemish painter in the style of Northern Mannerism, a poet, historian and theoretician of art, was the first teacher of her two grandchildren.

After a while after 1578, the Breughel family moved to Antwerp. Probably, Brueghel Peter Jr. came to the studio of landscape painter Gillis van Koningslo, who studied with Peter Cook van Alst. His teacher left Antwerp in 1585, but by this time Bruegel had already been accepted into the guild of St. Luke as an independent, independent painter.

November 5, 1588 Bruegel Peter Jr. married Elizabeth Goddellet. They had seven children, many of whom died in early childhood. One of the sons, named Peter Bruegel III, will also become an artist. Brueghel Peter Jr. himself holds a large workshop in Antwerp, which mainly produces inexpensive copies of his father's works, which sell well both in the country and abroad. However, despite the sufficient number of orders, the artist often experiences financial difficulties. Most likely this is due to excessive use of alcohol. He had at least nine students, including such as Frans Snyders and Andries Daniels. After they learned how to work, making copies in the workshop of Brueghel, both became famous as masters of still life.

Artist Peter Bruegel, Jr. died in Antwerp at the age of 72 years.

Independent work

Painter, as already said, more specialized in creating numerous copies of the most famous works of his father. The very same Peter Bruegel, Jr. wrote landscapes, paintings on religious subjects and genre scenes from the countryside. His name and works were forgotten in the 18th and 19th centuries, until he was rediscovered in the first half of the 20th century.

Paintings "Collector of taxes" and "Bride"

Peter Bruegel, Jr. created vivid, energetic, bold, original works, built on idioms, which are difficult to literally translate for a foreigner. They require close examination. Such a picture was, for example, "The Office of the tax collector." She has several more names, which speak about the possibility of various interpretations of this work. At the table stands a man in the lawyer's hat. But the collection of taxes usually does not occur in such an environment, as it is depicted on the canvas. Both the documents and the bags on the table do not look the same as they were in real life of that time. In addition, usually peasants brought tithes grain. Here they are lining up with chickens and eggs. The picture shows the interest of the city dweller, as Brueghel was, to village life. The artist made at least 25 copies of this work in different formats.

Another original work by Brueghel is in the Metropolitan Museum. This is the "Bride". It is known at least five of its author's versions. The picture depicts the ancient spring Flemish custom of choosing a queen for the Trinity and her wedding with a wreath of flowers gathered in the fields by the children. And the style and coloring of the picture is clearly different from the work of his father. The painting uses a bright color, like cinnabar, and also the richest blue-green shades. On the canvas is seen the integrity of the composition and drawing. In the National Gallery in Prague, you can also find his four works, but since his style has not changed over the course of his life, it can be difficult to reliably say whether any work is original and independent or it is one of the copies of his father's lost work.

Copy Creator

Bruegel Peter Jr. in the Hermitage is represented by five copies from the works of his father. This is the "Adoration of the Magi", "Fair with a theatrical performance", "Winter Landscape", "Sermon of St. John the Baptist "and" Assault of robbers against peasants ". The copyist inevitably brought in these canvases small changes that distinguish his works from the works of his father. They vary in color, and in reading the topic of details that can change the meaning of the newly created paintings somewhat.

Christmas theme

Rewriting his father's picture, this topic was touched upon by Peter Bruegel, Jr.. "Adoration of the Magi" is a picture of the authorship of Brueghel the Elder, depicting a small village in which, under the gloomy winter sky, people are busy with their usual, not festive life. This is the everyday life of the Flemish village. But the mules appeared on the square, covered with decorated blankets. This makes the people pay attention to the low-profile building, which is on the left. In the picture of Bruegel the son, Mary and the baby are almost invisible. The Magi are dressed in a perfectly normal manner. The main thing is everyday life, which is boiling and fussing. It is full of necessary activity and binds the universe into a single whole.

Winter

Of course, initially such a pacified work was created by the father. Her copy was written by Brueghel Peter Jr.. "The winter landscape with a trap for birds" depicts a clear morning instead of a gloomy day. The bright azure of the sky, reflected in the white snow, gently and harmoniously glows into the greenish ice on the river. Fun with skates in the picture - not the main thing. A trap is important, which is made of a door for stupid birds that are waiting for the catcher. By the way, it's not in the picture. What is behind this? The question of the frailty and fragility of any life. Bird, if the trap is slammed, human, if the ice on the river is cracked, and cheerful entertainment will turn into a tragedy.

"Massacre of the innocents"

According to the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus learned of the birth of Jesus, King Herod ordered that all children in Bethlehem be killed before the age of two. Bruegel has modernized history, and the soldiers wear the uniform of the Spanish army and their German mercenaries. This work of the father was repeated by Peter Bruegel, Jr.. "Beating babies" is sold in at least 14 copies. The version that now belongs to the Royal Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, originally belonged to Emperor Rudolf II. The dead babies were painted over. Instead, they drew food and animals. Thus, instead of carnage, robbery and looting were obtained. In 1988 it was restored, and its original appearance was restored. This work was acquired by Charles II in 1662.

Summer

End of summer, harvesting reflected in the picture Peter Bruegel Jr.. "Reaping", of course, differs in detail from the canvas of his father. A larger plan is given to villagers. Some after the work rest not under a tree, like his father, but where their fatigue has washed away. The peasant comes to the fore, quenching thirst from a huge jug. In terms of coloring, the son's picture is brighter, more fun, more cinnabar. The landscape in the background is completely different. All the attention of the artist is focused on people who have worked hard already and collect a deservedly large harvest. Very warmly the painter refers to the depicted inhabitants of a small village, to tireless toilers.

An abstract on the history. Peter Bruegel the Younger

The art of the Northern Renaissance developed according to completely different laws, if we compare it with the Italian one. First, it lagged behind for almost a century. Secondly, the artists did not have great images of Greco-Roman culture. Finally, it developed against the background of the struggle for freedom against the Spanish invaders and the reform of the Church. In general, all this was expressed in pictures of Dutch painters greater affinity for Gothic and more conventional and archaic forms. To some extent in their work there is a pagan perception of the world: God is dissolved in every particle of it. Meanwhile, the official doctrine denies this. God is far away and oversees the deeds of people.

The artists of the Netherlands tried to decorate everyday life, poeticized everyday life. Therefore, the landscape from the background image in the picture became an independent genre, like a still life.

In the work of Brueghel, especially the younger, the opposition of evil and good is very strong, philosophical overtones about the impermanence of the earth, mockery, as, for example, in the painting "The Alchemist" by his father's engraving. The artist, following his father, peers at the activities of people, but sees in their actions a meaning, while his father did not see him, portraying life as an empty fuss. With love and attention, the artist depicts the life of the people, reworking his father's pictures. He reads them differently. Everyday life does not seem to him nonsense. And besides, it is full of that beauty and brightness, which was not enough in the paintings of Bruegel the elder. And the landscape part of the canvases continues to develop what his father started, showing the beauty of the surrounding world. Thus, making copies and actively selling them abroad, Brueghel the Jr. introduces the world not only with the works of his great ancestor, who triumphantly march through countries and continents, but with their own vision of the world.