Bruegel's Influence On Painting

Bruegel, Pieter was one of the greatest painters of the 16th century. He was born around 1526 in the Netherlands. Bruegel worked in France and Italy. His artwork was accepted by people during his career because of his strong influence on landscapes and vigorous, sometimes witty paintings of peasant life. Some historical events happening around Bruegel’s life included, the introduction of the printing press in Stockholm, Sweden in 1526, the devastating small box epidemic of the Inca people of Cusco in 1527, the marriage of Queen Mary to Spain’s Catholic Habsburg Prince Philip in 1554, and the beginning of The Eighty years’ War in the Netherlands in 1568. According to The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica his art work represented affinity
with the Flemish 16th century landscape traditions. His artwork was among the strongest influences in the low countries of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Some of Bruegel’s most famous art works are “The Fall of Icarus” (1558), “Netherlandish Proverbs” (1559), “The Triumph of Death (1562), “Hunters in the Snow” (1565), and “Peasant Dance” (1567). The technique that Bruegel used were a representation of humanistic settings. He was known to use watercolors or tempera, a technique practiced in his hometown of Mechelen. Bruegel died December 5th, 1569 at the age of 44. His cause of death is unknown, and his body is buried at the church of Notre Dame de la Chapelle in Brussels, Belgium.