Pieter Brueghel the Younger

Pieter Brueghel the Younger was a Flemish painter, the son and namesake of the most important artist of the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance. Renowned for his vibrant depictions of peasant life, landscapes and religious scenes, Brueghel the Younger devoted his career to creating numerous copies and interpretations of his father’s work.

Brueghel the Younger was born in Brussels, Belgium around 1564. He first received artistic training under his maternal grandmother, the miniaturist and painter Mayken Verhulst — who also provided formative instruction to Pieter the Younger’s younger brother Jan Brueghel the Elder. In 1583 Brueghel the Younger moved to Antwerp and entered the studio of the landscape painter Gillis van Coninxloo. By the late 1580s and early 1590s, Brueghel the Younger established his independent studio following his matriculation to the Antwerp’s painter’s Guild of St Luke.

Famously associated with scenes of fire and macabre subject matter, Pieter Brueghel the Younger was nicknamed the ‘Hell’ Brueghel. However, he also painted landscapes, allegories, religious subjects, proverbs and bustling village scenes. One of his most well-known works and finest reinterpretations of his father’s oeuvre, The Battle between Carnival and Lent, provides the perfect vehicle for that unique blend of humorous storytelling and riotous anecdotal detail that have endeared the works of the Brueghels to generations of art-lovers. In 2011 Christie’s sold this painting for £6,873,250, setting a world auction record for the artist.

As one of the most recognisable artists of the Dutch Golden Age, Pieter Brueghel the Younger maintained a prolific output throughout his lifetime, mainly supported by his workshop. The artist enjoyed popularity by the public but also from his contemporaries like Anthony van Dyck, who painted a portrait of Brueghel, and Peter Paul Rubens, who owned one of his paintings. It is unclear what year Pieter Brueghel the Younger died, but the annals of the Guild suggest that it may have been around 1637.

Today, Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s paintings are appreciated for their historical value and artistic skill. They provide a fascinating glimpse into the life and culture of 16th- and 17th-century Flanders, housed in the collections of major museums around the world including the Louvre in Paris, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and more.