Art Guide · Painters
Pieter Bruegel
c. 1525–1569
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525–1569) was a Flemish painter of village life, the seasons and crowded scenes set in sweeping landscapes. The Hunters in the Snow and The Tower of Babel are his best-known works.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
His exact birthplace and date are unknown. He joined the Antwerp painters’ guild in 1551, then travelled to Italy and back across the Alps, whose mountains left their mark on his work. He spent his final years in Brussels. His sons Pieter the Younger and Jan Brueghel also became famous painters.
Style and key works
Bruegel was nicknamed “Peasant Bruegel” for painting country people at weddings, festivals and in the fields with keen observation and humour. The Hunters in the Snow (1565) belongs to a series of six paintings of the times of the year, five of which survive. The largest collection of his work is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Key works
Shop Pieter Bruegel posters →Frequently asked questions
Where is The Hunters in the Snow?
In the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Bruegel or Brueghel?
The elder Pieter dropped the “h” from his signature after 1559, while his sons used “Brueghel”; both spellings are accepted.