Bruegel

Folk stories: An eye on everyday peasant lifeAt a time when artists were still widely preoccupied with religious or mythological subject matter, the great Flemish painterPieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525–1569) defied the trend. Earning the nickname “Peasant Bruegel”, he turned his attention instead tothe humble and the everyday, immersing himself in rural or small-town communities and painting the everyday existence and customs of peasant life.In their evocation of the agriculture, festivals, meals, dances and games that made up peasant life of this period, Brugel's paintings are aunique witness to a now vanished folk culture. More than socio-historical evidence, they also display a brilliantly sophisticated artistic design and a greatmastery in the use of landscape. Many of Bruegel's works show the influence of the Dutch master painter Hieronymus Bosch, and, like Bosch, Bruegel also developed anintricate language of visual allegory and idiom.This comprehensive introduction features the complete paintings of Bruegel, including the Prado'sThe Wine of Saint Martin's Day, identified as a Bruegel original in 2010.