Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568 - 1625)

Second son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1520/25–1569), Jan – known as “Velvet” and “Flower” Brueghel – was one of the principal representatives of Flemish painting around 1600. His subject-matter was mythology, allegory, still life, flowers and landscapes, which he was instrumental in developing from the “world landscape” to the “realistic” landscape of the 17th century. From 1592 until 1595 he was in Rome, where he became friends with Paul Bril (1554–1626). In 1601 he was dean of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke, and from 1606 he is recorded as being painter at the court of Archduke Albrecht VII of Austria (1559– 1621) in Brussels. Brueghel collaborated with his close friend Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), with Hendrik van Balen (1575–1632), Joos de Momper (1564–1635) and Hans Rottenhammer (1564–1625).

Author: Ducke Astrid

Literature: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, S. 72