Pieter Bruegel

Imagine you are in the 1500’s. You see an artist right in front of you, sitting in a wooden chair at a small desk carefully sketching out his new painting. He is working on his new oil "Peasant Dance Fest". The artist you see is Pieter Bruegel, creating his newest masterpiece.

    Pieter was born in about 1527. He had a teacher named Pieter Coeke Van, who died in 1550. He became master of the Antwerp Guild the year after that. He married Pieter Coeke Van’s daughter Meken, and they had two sons, Jan called Velvet, and Pieter the Younger. They both grew to be artists. Bruegel's mother and father in law were also artists.
    Bruegel was a Flemish artist. He studied in Antwerp. At one point, Bruegel worked for an engraver named Hieronymus Cock.   Bruegel traveled around the world in 1552-1554 to observe other styles of art. In 1552, he traveled to Italy to learn how Italian artists paint. When he came back from Italy, he painted the sketches he had drawn there.
    Bruegel's first style of painting was landscapes. His landscapes were panoramic landscapes. He enjoyed painting people. He painted peasants either planting, growing, harvesting, celebrating a special occasion, or acting proverbs. He put hidden messages in some of his paintings. Bruegel mostly painted realistically, not mythological. He was able to catch special moments, like a photographer. Pieter's art was full of color and detail.

Pieter Bruegel painted a beautiful painting called "Hunters in the Snow". It was oil painted on a wooden panel in 1556. It is 45 x63 3/4 inches and is displayed in the Kunthistoric museum in Vienna, Austria. The purpose of this painting is imitationalism. The lines are different in all sorts of ways. They are mostly wavy and curved. The first texture you see is the smoothness. The focal point is a big tree at the far left of the painting.

The shape is mostly a squiggle shape for the trees. The painting is of a winter scene, it has a hunter on a hill with his dogs; looking down on a town. Beyond the town stands a jagged mountain. As you look around the painting, you will see more green than other colors; there are also warm, cool , and neutral colors. There are a few young people but mostly natural things like trees, animals, rocks and a sky. There are many examples of repetition and variation "Hunters in the Snow". They are mostly in the way that Bruegel shapes his trees. In this painting the proximity of the objects varies between close and far. This painting has a very deep space. It has one because it looks like you can see for miles. The balance of this painting is asymmetrical. On one side of the painting ( the left side), the elements look very close up, but the other side looks like you can see for miles. There is movement going on in the painting. This is represented by people who appear to be ice skating on the frozen ponds and a hunter who appears to be walking. The purpose of this painting is to imitate nature. The title is not any tell-tale about the painting. Some words that explain this painting are beauty, courage, peace, and interest in - color. Bruegel was trying to express nature in this painting.

Pieter Bruegel was a very unique artist. He was unique because of the colors he used . He toned many of them down. "Hunters in the Snow" is an excellent example of imitationalism and portrays Bruegel's theme of nature in a way that many people like. Pieter Bruegel was one of the greatest artists and he should be more known.

Researched and written by Darcie C.
Mrs. Sunda's 3rd Grade Gifted Resource Class

Sources:
Pieter Bruegel by Mike Venizia