Paintings of religious subject-matter
by Pieter BRUEGEL the Elder

For centuries past, churches and monasteries had been among the most important clients commissioning art. The Reformation put an end to this tradition, the Protestants considering the rich pictorial ornamentation of Catholic buildings to be symptoms of secularisation, or even of a forbidden display of magnificence and power.

Although Bruegel worked with others on an altar in 1550/51, as far as can be ascertained, not one of his paintings was executed for a church. One reason for this may be seen in the political and religious situation at the time, Lutheran and Reformed Church communities being uninterested in such works and Catholics holding back - in those cases where they had actually been able to keep their buildings. Another reason was Bruegel's style, which was such as to exclude him from consideration by Catholics. His works did not correspond to Catholic requirements to portray saints in a way which emphasized their sainthood and clearly distinguished them from other mortals.

Preview Picture Data Info
The Adoration of the Kings
1556-62
Tempera on canvas, 122 x 168 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels


The Adoration of the Kings
1564
Oil on wood, 111 x 84 cm
National Gallery, London


The Adoration of the Kings (detail)
1564
Oil on wood, width of detail 26 cm
National Gallery, London


The Adoration of the Kings (detail)
1564
Oil on wood, width of detail 21 cm
National Gallery, London


The Adoration of the Kings (detail)
1564
Oil on wood, width of detail 26 cm
National Gallery, London


The Adoration of the Kings (detail)
1564
Oil on wood, width of detail 21 cm
National Gallery, London


Adoration of the Kings in the Snow
1567
Tempera on panel, 35 x 55 cm
Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur


Adoration of the Kings in the Snow (detail)
1567
Tempera on panel, 35 x 55 cm
Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur


Death of the Virgin
c. 1564
Oil on panel, 36 x 55 cm
Upton House, Banbury


Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery
1565
Oil on canvas, 24 x 34 cm
Courtauld Gallery, London


Christ Carrying the Cross
1564
Oil on oak panel, 124 x 170 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel, width of detail 36 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel, width of detail 36 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel, width of detail 36 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Christ Carrying the Cross (detail)
1564
Oil on oak panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


The Massacre of the Innocents
1565-67
Oil on panel, 111 x 160 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


The Massacre of the Innocents (detail)
1565-67
Oil on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna



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



© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.