BRUEGHEL, Jan the Elder
(b. ca. 1568, Brussel, d. 1625, Antwerpen)

A Flemish Fair (detail)

1610s
Oil on copper
Royal Collection, Windsor

Brueghel's achievement is to have depicted a continuous landscape, with meticulously observed details on the left complemented by the superbly handled atmospheric blue tones that evoke a landscape of melting beauty on the right. The vigorous characterisation of the figures in the foreground recalls the work of the artist's father, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, but it is interesting to observe that several sections of society are represented and not just peasants.