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Because
of his fondness of certain subjects and glowing enamel paint, Jan, the
second son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, was
given the nickname “Velvet” or “Flower” Brueghel.
The first lessons he received from his grandmother, painter-miniaturist
Mayken Verhulst Bessemers, who gave direction to his interests and technique,
further developed by his teachers, including Pieter Goetkint and Gillis
van Coninxloo (1544-1607). About seven years, 1589-1596, Brueghel spent
in Italy: He worked in Naples (1590), Rome (1592-94), and then in Milan
(1596) for Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, who became his patron.
In 1597 he returned to Amsterdam, where he became a member of the Lucas
Guild in 1601. It is known that in 1604 he traveled to Prague. In 1610
the Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Spanish Governor of the Netherlands,
appointed him a court painter. He was a friend of Rubens
with whom he collaborated, including the magnificent flower garland in
Rubens’ Madonna in the Flower Wreath
while Rubens painted figures for many of his works, e.g. Adam
and Eve in Paradise, Allegory of
Sight et.al. Around 1613 Brueghel and Rubens together with
Hendrick van Balen traveled to Holland.
Brueghel was well-to-do and respected, owning several houses in Antwerp
as well as a considerable art collection.
Besides historical scenes, paradisiacal images of animals, and genre
scenes, he was above all a painter of landscape and of flower pieces. As
a specialist of “accessories” he collaborated with Frans Francken, Hans
Rottenhammer and Joos de Momper, van Balen, F. Francken II et al.
His sons Jan Brueghel II
(1601-78) and Ambrosius Brueghel (1617-75) copied his style and continued
his work; their sons in their turn, carried on the tradition into the 18th
century.
The Four Elements – air, water, earth,
and fire – according to a tradition derived from Greek philosophy, were
the components of every worldly object. The allegory of the four elements
was a frequent subject in 17th century painting. For this panel Hendrick
van Balen painted the figures that personify the elements.
See: Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632).
The Four Elements.
A Flemish Market and Washing-Place.
Joos de Momper the Younger painted the landscape, while Brueghel provided
lively figures engaged in everyday activities.
See: Jan Brueghel the Elder and Joos Momper the Younger (1564-1635).
A Flemish Market and Washing-Place.
Assault on a Convay. Sebastian Vrancx
specialized in military scenes, in this picture, Brueghel painted the landscape.
See: Jan Brueghel the Elder and Sebastian Vrancx (1573-1647). Assault
on a Convay.
Bibliography:
Dutch Genre Painting. XVII century. by E. Fehner. Moscow. Izobrazitelnoe
Iskusstvo. 1979.
Painting of Europe. XIII-XX centuries. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Moscow. Iskusstvo. 1999
Jan
Brueghel The Elder: The Entry Of The Animals Into Noah's Ark
by Arianne Faber Kolb. J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005.