PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER
Pieter Bruegel the Elder was a significantly influential painter and printmaker of the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance. Influenced by fellow Dutch painter Hieronymous Bosch, Bruegel is known for landscapes and peasant scenes that he often merged in a manner that preserved focus for both. Featuring peasant life was a breakaway from the norm as other artists tended to depict high society. Bruegel also dabbled in biblical portrayals, but not so much. One of his best works is Children’s Game, which, like many of his peasant-featuring works, was created as an allegory for man’s foolishness and idiocies. Bruegel began his artistic career as an apprentice to Piete van Aelst, who was the official painter to the Holy Roman Empire. Bruegel married his mentor’s daughter and together had two sons, both of whom became artists.
