Scenes of grandeur
"The Paintings of Jan Brueghel the Elder" at Munich's Alte Pinokathek museum (22.03-16.06) explores the work of the renowned painter and draughtsman in the broader context of Flemish Baroque painting.
The Flemish Baroque
Famous for his skilful paintings of flowers and genre scenes, Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) was one of the most important painters of the early 17th century in Europe. "The Spring" (1616), pictured, is one a cycle of paintings depicting the four seasons created by Jan Brueghel the Elder together with Hendrik van Balen (1575-1632).
Family affair
The Brueghel family were a creative lot. Jan Brueghel the Elder was the son of Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1525-1569), the brother of Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1636), a painter nicknamed "Hell Brueghel," and the father of Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-1678). Pieter Brueghel the Younger painted "The Peasants' Wedding" (pictured) around 1630.
Cameo role
The exhibition at Munich's Alte Pinakothek explores the work of Flemish painter Jan Brueghel the Elder in the context of the painting production industry in Antwerp around the year 1600 and includes major works such as "Large Fish Market" (pictured). Painted with oils on an oak panel in 1603, Brueghel can be seen together with his family and a maid to the left of the dog in the foreground.
Velvet touch
Brueghel started out his career in the spirit of renowned father, though he quickly developed his own unique style. His naturalistic small-format landscapes, flower arrangements and richly detailed allegories paved the way for Flemish Baroque painters. The painter was nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel on account of his rich and delicate textures. Pictured is "Calvary Hill" from 1598.
Grand tour
Like many Flemish Baroque painters, Brueghel traveled to Italy, to Rome, Naples and Milan, where he met important patrons and was inspired by the art of classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. Brueghel's "Aeneas in the Underworld" (1600) is based on Virgil's Aeneid and takes inspiration from the earlier works of Dutch painter Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1516).
Culture capital
Flemish painting flourished from the 15th to the 17th century on account of the wealth generated by overseas trade and a strong banking sector. By the mid-16th century, Antwerp was the second largest city north of the Alps. Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Brueghel, who died of cholera in his atelier in 1625, all lived there. Pictured is Brueghel's "Windmills on a Broad Plain" from 1611.
Hidden secrets
A team of conservators from the Doerner Institute has used x-rays, infrared and stereoscopic images to reveal details about Brueghel's working process and characteristic techniques. The exhibition presents the results of this research, illustrating how the artist outlined motifs with a small number of loose brushstrokes, then added accents. Pictured here is one of his studies of birds, c. 1610.
Joint venture
Brueghel often collaborated on works with his friends, painting flowers or backgrounds for them. Brueghel painted "Saint Hubert's Vision" (1615-30) with Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Legend has it that Saint Hubert converted to Christianity after seeing a cross appear between a buck's antlers when he tried to kill the animal. Rubens painted the figures, while Brueghel completed the landscape.
All in the detail
Together with his father and brother, Brueghel popularized genre painting (rustic scenes of everyday life) in 17th-century Flanders. A selection of his studies of birds, harbor scenes and hunting dogs, provide a unique insight into the Flemish painter and draughtsman's eye for detail. "The Paintings of Jan Brueghel the Elder" runs at Munich's Alte Pinakothek through June 16, 2013.