BRUEGHEL. - A Flemish family of painters whose progenitor was Pieter the Elder, who had two sons, Pieter the Younger (known as "of Hell") and Jan the Elder (known as "of the Velvets"); the latter was the father of Jan the Younger, from whom descended Jan Pieter, Abraham (known as "the Neapolitan"), Philips, Ferdinand, and Jan Baptist.
Pieter the Elder, born perhaps in Breda around 1525, died in Brussels on 5 September 1569. A pupil of Pieter Coeck van Aelst, he absorbed the influence of Hieronymus Bosch (q.v.); he became a master in 1551 and was active especially in Antwerp and, from 1563, in Brussels; he was in Rome in 1553.
He exerted the liveliest influence on Flemish art, whose most celebrated expressions, the so-called "genre" painting, essentially derive from his works, widely disseminated through engravings that amplified his fame. Among his religious subjects, the Adoration of the Magi in Brussels and London are particularly notable; but his reputation rests especially on the series of the Months in the Vienna gallery and on works where his exceptional imagination is most freely manifested, such as landscapes (including Alpine ones, which document his journey to Italy) and folk scenes. The Pinacoteca of Naples preserves the allegory of the Blind, while the Doria Gallery in Rome holds the Port of Naples.
Pieter the Younger (b. in Brussels in 1564, d. in Antwerp in 1638) and Jan the Elder (b. in Brussels in 1568, d. in Antwerp in 1625), his sons, imitated and continued their father’s style and compositions, often preferring rather small formats for both religious subjects (notably the "infernal" ones) and representations of landscapes, flowers, or peasant life. Pieter was a pupil of Gillis van Coninxloo. Jan, who also collaborated with Rubens, made a journey to Italy, staying in Rome from 1592 to 1594 and stopping in Milan in 1596.
Jan the Younger (b. 1601, d. 1678), son of Jan the Elder, continued his father’s manner in ever smaller formats, painting especially still lifes (particularly flowers), landscapes with animals, etc. The creative force of both steadily waned, with their works increasingly marked by a didactic character and monotonous imitation of their predecessors.
Jan Pieter (b. c. 1648), Abraham (b. 1631, d. c. 1690), and Jan Baptist (b. 1647, d. 1719), who spent much of their lives in Italy, continued to paint in the family tradition without adding any new significant elements. See Pl. XI.