Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625), 16th-century painter from Flanders, created intricate and incredibly detailed paintings, notably floral arrangements and landscapes. He is from a family of accomplished artists. His father, Pieter Brueghel, one of the Old Masters, created work in the fashion of Hieronymous Bosch. Jan Brueghel the Elder himself had an atelier with artists working for him; they would go on to have rewarding art careers of their own.
Painting on Copper
Jan’s specialty was oversized bouquets of flowers. His frequent technique was to create a painting by glazing, that is building up the colors and luminosity through adding many thin layers of paint. His landscapes and still lifes beautifully display a sense of space.
He often prepared for larger projects by composing sketches in paint, repeating a theme over and over on the same surface.
Jan’s created “The Temptation of St. Anthony” by applying oil paint on copper. Though an overwhelmingly dark landscape, the composition is brightened by areas of light-filled figures. Another of his common techniques was to paint a layer of black first, let it dry, then paint from the back of the composition to the front. Today “The Temptation of St. Anthony” can be viewed at Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Painting on copper was a technique common for his time and was followed by many of his contemporaries. Today the technique is being re-discovered; contemporary artists are applying oil on aluminum and copper to give their paintings a beautiful sense of luminosity.
His favored techniques
Jan Brueghel repeated many themes, such as the muscled horse. His version of an oversized strongly-muscled horse is depicted in several paintings. He also repeats Biblical stories, a favorite being Noah’s ark.
In the paintings “Wedding Banquet” and “The Garden of Eden” Jan’s beautiful mastery at depicting foliage is evident. Individual brush strokes don’t show, but there is evidence of his handwork in the trees of the landscapes. The delicacy and realism of the foliage is created from his build-up of glazed layers of paint.
The Sense Series
Jan is famous for his allegorical paintings on the five senses. These stunning, detailed and richly-colored works feature figures playing musical instruments, feasting at banquet tables, surveying rows of paintings, and sitting among multi-colored flower gardens.
Bouquets
Brueghel became famous for his bouquet still life paintings. His bouquets are impossible looking. They are top heavy; the number of flowers fill the canvas to bursting. Ripe flowers are collected from incongruent times of the season. Light and color infuse the paintings in a riot of flowers, leaves, stalks, bugs, butterflies, even snails.
Often the bouquet paintings include objects on the table nearby such as shells, plates, fruit, bird nests, eggs, jewelry, mirrors, cups and glasses. But they are not the focus. The objects are permanent while the flowers – which are temporary – are the focus.
Still lifes are a common artistic theme that refer to humans’ mortality. Beauty is to be appreciated because it is fleeting. Life on earth is temporary and its sensual pleasures are to be enjoyed.
Sources:
- Rene Trevino oil painting lecture presented at Towson University, Towson, Maryland, on March 22, 2010.
- “Grove Dictionary of Art.” Oxford University Press, 2009.
Suzanne Hill - Suzanne Moniea Hill studied art history and studio art and has been passionate about art all her life. She believes that people should ...
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