Landscapes
by Pieter BRUEGEL the Elder

It was not until the sixteenth century that the history of landscape painting really began. It had played a subordinate role in Christian painting towards the end of the Middle Ages; the subject of importance for mediaeval times was not so much one's visible surroundings as Heaven and Hell, and how one arrived at the one or the other. Not until one or two generations before Bruegel did people discover the attractive sight and aesthetic pleasure that a landscape could offer. The first master of landscapes is generally acknowledged to be Joachim Patenier.

Patenier used an elevated vantage-point to fit a broad area of land into his picture. It is only from above that one's gaze can pass over houses, trees, hills. Bruegel imitated him in this, almost all of his landscapes depicting the view from a mountain or some otherwise undefined height. Bruegel occupies an important position in the history of landscape painting on account of his ability to convey to the observer the transformation of nature in the course of the seasons.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
c. 1555
Oil on canvas, mounted on wood, 73,5 x 112 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1246*800
True Color
149 Kb



Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
c. 1555
Oil on canvas, mounted on wood, 74 x 112 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1393*900
True Color
184 Kb



Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (detail)
c. 1555
Oil on canvas, mounted on wood
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

850*1021
True Color
183 Kb



Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (detail)
c. 1555
Oil on canvas, mounted on wood
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1000*922
True Color
146 Kb



The Suicide of Saul
1562
Oil on panel, 34 x 55 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1311*770
True Color
155 Kb



The Suicide of Saul (detail)
1562
Oil on panel, width of detail 27 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

950*1147
True Color
213 Kb



The Suicide of Saul (detail)
1562
Oil on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

800*1059
True Color
221 Kb



The Suicide of Saul (detail)
1562
Oil on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1000*1124
True Color
150 Kb



The Conversion of Saul
1567
Oil on panel, 108 x 156 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1292*900
True Color
189 Kb



The Conversion of Saul (detail)
1567
Oil on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1000*1279
True Color
205 Kb



The Conversion of Saul (detail)
1567
Oil on panel, width of detail 78 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

900*1076
True Color
180 Kb



The Conversion of Saul (detail)
1567
Oil on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

869*1300
True Color
169 Kb



Winter Landscape with Skaters and Bird Trap
1565
Oil on panel, 37 x 55,5 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1052*700
True Color
183 Kb



Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird Trap (detail)
1565
Oil on panel
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

750*933
True Color
201 Kb



Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird Trap (detail)
1565
Oil on panel, width of detail 21 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1139*600
True Color
172 Kb



Magpie on the Gallow
1568
Oil on oak panel, 46 x 51 cm
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

1030*915
True Color
196 Kb



Magpie on the Gallow (detail)
1568
Oil on oak panel
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

850*1071
True Color
206 Kb



Magpie on the Gallow (detail)
1568
Oil on oak panel
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

810*1000
True Color
191 Kb



The Temptation of St Anthony
1557
Oil on canvas, 59 x 86 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

1047*700
True Color
120 Kb



Landscape with the Parable of the Sower
1557
Oil on panel, 70 x 102 cm
Timken Art Gallery, San Diego

1030*725
True Color
136 Kb



Landscape with the Flight into Egypt
1563
Oil on canvas, 37 x 56 cm
Courtauld Gallery, London

1030*692
True Color
121 Kb



Storm at Sea
1568
Oil on panel, 71 x 97 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1068*770
True Color
165 Kb




Summary of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Paintings
Landscapes | Children's games | Proverbs
Village life | Demons and devils | Tower of Babel
Series of Months | Religious themes | St John the Baptist
Peasant life | Large figures | Miscellaneous
Graphics