Bruegel Peter the Younger (1564 / 65–1636), a painter from Flemish, was nicknamed Hellish. He is known for his numerous copies of the works of his father, Peter Bruegel the Elder, as well as for 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, Bruegel Peter Jr. appears before us. The photo of the picture shows its beautiful appearance, and gives a characterization as a wise person.
Peter Brueghel Jr.: biography
The son of Peter Bruegel the Elder, nicknamed Peasant and his wife, Miken 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 VerhĂĽlst. Grandmother was the widow of prolific artist Peter Cook van Alst. She herself was an experienced artist, known for her miniatures. Perhaps Karel van Mander Miken VerhĂĽlst, a Flemish painter in the style of Northern Mannerism, a poet, historian and theorist of art, was the first teacher of her two grandchildren.
Some time after 1578, the Brueghel family moved to Antwerp. Probably Bruegel Peter Jr. came to the workshop of landscape painter Gillis van Koningsloe, who studied under Peter Cook van Alst. His teacher left Antwerp in 1585, but by this time Brueghel had already been accepted into the guild of St. Luke as an independent, independent painter.
On November 5, 1588, Brueghel Peter Jr. married Elizabeth Goddelet. They had seven children, many of whom died in early childhood. One of the sons, whose name was Peter Bruegel III, will also become an artist. Bruegel 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 a sufficient number of orders, the artist often experiences financial difficulties. Most likely this is due to excessive alcohol consumption. He had at least nine students, including such as France Sneijders and Andries Daniels. After they learned how to work, making copies in Brueghel’s workshop, both became famous as masters of still life.
Artist Peter Brueghel Jr died in Antwerp at the age of 72.
Independent work
The painter, as already mentioned, more specialized in creating numerous copies from the most famous works of his father. Peter Brueghel Jr. himself painted landscapes, paintings on religious subjects and genre village scenes. His name and works were forgotten in the 18th and 19th centuries, until he was rediscovered in the first half of the 20th century.
Pictures "Tax Collector" and "Bride"
Peter Brueghel Jr created bright, energetic, bold, peculiar works based on idioms that are difficult to literally translate for a foreigner.
They require close scrutiny. Such a picture was, for example, "Office of the tax collector." She has several more names that speak of the possibility of various interpretations of this work. At the table is a man in a lawyer's hat. But tax collection usually does not take place in such an environment as it is shown on the canvas. Both the documents and the bags on the table do not look what they were in real life at that time. In addition, peasants usually brought tithes in grain. Here they line up with chickens and eggs. The picture shows the interest of the city dweller, which was Brueghel, in rural life. The artist made at least 25 copies from this work in various formats.
Another original work by Brueghel is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is the "Bride." At least five of its copyrighted versions are known. The painting depicts the old Flemish spring custom of choosing the Queen for the Trinity and crowning her with a wreath of flowers collected in the fields by children. Both in style and color, the picture is clearly different from the work of his father. The picture uses such a bright color as cinnabar, as well as the richest blue-green shades. On the canvas, the integrity of the composition and pattern is visible. You can also find four of his works in the National Gallery in Prague , but since his style has not changed throughout his life, it can be difficult to reliably say whether a work is original and independent or is it one of the copies of his father’s lost work.
Copy creator
Bruegel Peter the Younger in the Hermitage is represented by five copies from the works of his father. This is “Adoration of the Magi”, “Fair with a theatrical performance”, “Winter landscape”, “Sermon of St. John the Baptist "and" Attack of the robbers on the peasants. " The copyist inevitably made small changes to these canvases that distinguish his works from the works of his father. They vary in color and in reading the topic in details that can somewhat change the meaning of the newly created paintings.
Christmas theme
After rewriting his father’s picture, Peter Bruegel the Younger touched on this topic. “Adoration of the Magi” is a painting by Bruegel the Elder, depicting a small village in which, under a gloomy winter sky, people are busy with their usual, non-festive life. These are everyday life of the Flemish village.
But mules appeared on the square, covered with ornate blankets. This makes people pay attention to the inconspicuous building, which is located on the left. In the picture of Bruegel's son, Mary and the baby are almost invisible. The Magi are dressed completely casual. The main thing is everyday life, which is seething, fussing. It is full of necessary activity and connects the person and the universe into a single whole.
Winter
Of course, initially such a peaceful work was created by father. A copy of it was written by Brueghel Peter Jr. The “winter landscape with a bird trap” depicts a clear morning instead of a gloomy day.
The light azure of the sky, reflected in white snow, smoothly and harmoniously with reflections passes into the greenish ice on the river. Fun with skates in the picture is not the main thing. What is important is the trap that is made of the door for the stupid birds that the catcher awaits. By the way, he is not in the picture. What is behind this? The question of the frailty and fragility of any life. A bird’s eye, if the trap slams shut, human, if the ice on the river breaks, and the fun will turn into tragedy.
"Massacre of the innocents"
According to the Gospel of Matthew, upon learning of the birth of Jesus, King Herod ordered the death of all children in Bethlehem before the age of two years. Brueghel has modernized history, and his soldiers wear the uniform of the Spanish Army and their German mercenaries.
This work of his father was repeated by Peter Brueghel Jr. Beating the Babies sold at least 14 copies. The version that now belongs to the Royal Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, originally belonged to Emperor Rudolph II. The killed 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
The end of summer, the harvest was reflected in the picture by Peter Bruegel the Younger. The "harvest", of course, differs in detail from the canvas of his father. More close-ups are given to the villagers. Some, after their labors, do not rest under the tree, like their father’s, but where their fatigue stole.
A peasant quenching thirst from a huge jug comes to the fore. In color, the son’s picture is brighter, more fun, it has more cinnabar. The landscape in the background is completely different. All the artist’s attention is focused on people who have already worked hard and are collecting a deservedly large crop. The painter is very warm about the depicted inhabitants of a small village, to tireless toilers.
Abstract on the history. Peter Brueghel Jr
The art of the Northern Renaissance developed according to completely different laws, when compared with Italian. Firstly, it is almost a century behind. Secondly, the artists did not have great images of Greco-Roman culture. And last, it developed against the backdrop of the struggle for freedom against the Spanish invaders and the reform of the Church. In general, all this was expressed in the paintings of Dutch painters by a greater proximity to 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 and oversees the actions of people.
Artists of the Netherlands sought to decorate everyday life, poeticizing everyday life. Therefore, the landscape from the background image in the picture has become an independent genre, like a still life.
In the works of Brueghel, especially the younger one, the opposition of evil and good, philosophical overtones about the mortality of the earth, and ridicule, as, for example, in the painting “The Alchemist” based on the engraving of his father, are very strong.
The artist, after his father, peers into the activities of people, but sees the meaning in their actions, while his father did not see him, portraying life as an empty vanity. With love and attention, the artist depicts the life of the people, changing pictures of his father. He reads them differently. Everyday life does not seem to him nonsense. And besides, she is full of that beauty and brightness, which was not enough in the paintings of Brueghel the Elder. And the landscape part of the paintings continues to develop what his father began, showing the beauty of the world. Thus, making copies and actively selling them abroad, Brueghel the Younger acquaints the world not only with the works of his great ancestor, who march triumphantly across countries and continents, but with his own vision of the world.