MuseScope.
Jan Brueghel the Elder

Jan Brueghel the Elder

1568–1625 · Habsburg Netherlands · Flemish Baroque painting

The story

Jan Brueghel the Elder was born into the most famous family in Flemish painting and made his own name in miniature. He was the younger son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the great painter of peasants, but he had barely turned one when his father died, so he inherited a name rather than a teacher. He grew into a specialist in tiny, jewel-like detail, painting flowers, forests teeming with animals, and glittering still lifes so fine that he earned the nickname Velvet Brueghel.

He often shared a panel with his close friend Peter Paul Rubens, the towering Baroque master. Rubens would paint the large figures and Jan would fill in the flowers, beasts and landscape around them, the two men trading strengths on pictures of Eden and allegories of the five senses.

Court painter to the Habsburg rulers of the southern Netherlands in Brussels, he was prosperous and admired. He died in Antwerp in 1625 in an outbreak of cholera that also took three of his children, and his own son, Jan the Younger, carried the family workshop on.

All of this, in your pocket. Get the app.

Works

86 works
The Entry of the Animals into Noah's ArkThe Entry of the Animals into Noah's ArkJan Brueghel the Elder, 1613The Infanta Isabel Clara EugeniaThe Infanta Isabel Clara EugeniaJan Brueghel the Elder, 1615The Virgin and Child in a Painting surrounded by Fruit and FlowersThe Virgin and Child in a Painting surrounded by Fruit and FlowersJan Brueghel the Elder, 1617TouchTouchJan Brueghel the Elder, 1618Wedding Banquet with the Archduke Albert and the Archduchess Isabel Clara EugeniaWedding Banquet with the Archduke Albert and the Archduchess Isabel Clara EugeniaJan Brueghel the Elder, 1612Wedding processionWedding processionJan Brueghel the Elder, 1623Wooded Landscape with Abraham and IsaacWooded Landscape with Abraham and IsaacJan Brueghel the Elder, 1599Aeneas and a Sibyl in the UnderworldAeneas and a Sibyl in the UnderworldJan Brueghel the Elder, 1600Archduke Albrecht and Isabella before Castle MariemontArchduke Albrecht and Isabella before Castle MariemontJan Brueghel the Elder, 1611Bouquet of flowersBouquet of flowersJan Brueghel the Elder, 1612Bouquet of Flowers in a Blue VaseBouquet of Flowers in a Blue VaseJan Brueghel the Elder, 1608Country Road with WindmillCountry Road with WindmillJan Brueghel the Elder, 1611Country WeddingCountry WeddingJan Brueghel the Elder, 1612Festoons with Flowers, Fruit and AngelsFestoons with Flowers, Fruit and AngelsJan Brueghel the Elder, 1620Flower bouquet in a wooden tubFlower bouquet in a wooden tubJan Brueghel the Elder, 1625Flowers in a BowlFlowers in a BowlJan Brueghel the Elder, 1615Flowers on a PlateFlowers on a PlateJan Brueghel the Elder, 1601Forest road next to a fordable pond with travelersForest road next to a fordable pond with travelersJan Brueghel the Elder, 1607Garland of Flowers around an Allegory of FarmingGarland of Flowers around an Allegory of FarmingJan Brueghel the Elder, 1621Garland with the Virgin, the Christ Child and two AngelsGarland with the Virgin, the Christ Child and two AngelsJan Brueghel the Elder, 1619Gypsy Gathering in a WoodGypsy Gathering in a WoodJan Brueghel the Elder, 1612Harbour Scene with Christ PreachingHarbour Scene with Christ PreachingJan Brueghel the Elder, 1598Holy Family with a Garland of Flowers and FruitsHoly Family with a Garland of Flowers and FruitsJan Brueghel the Elder, 1620Inn at the road along the riverInn at the road along the riverJan Brueghel the Elder, 1601Jonah Leaves the Whale's BellyJonah Leaves the Whale's BellyJan Brueghel the Elder, 1597