The Brueghels: Splendours of Europe - Rilegato

The contrast between the fineness of his canvases and the apparent simplicity of his subjects, characteristic of the great works of realism, testifies to the careful observation and great precision with which he created his pictures. He is credited with making a major contribution to the evolution of Dutch landscape painting.

Pieter the Younger, his older son, was fascinated with the grotesque and the ugly, for which he was nicknamed "Hell Brueghel." He was the best copier of his father's works and made his career in Antwerp. He kept the letter "h" in his last name, as did other members of the family, in order to distinguish himself from Pieter the Elder.

Jan I, the younger son, also visited Italy before settling in Antwerp. Having worked with Rubens and created works different from those of his father, since he concentrated on colour and lustre, becoming a master of still life. The delicacy of execution and the infinite care with which he painted his flowers earned him the nickname of "Velvet Brueghel."

This work covers a century of Flemish painting through the history of one family, emblematic of art history as a whole. With the help of more than two hundred reproductions of the three masters and their contemporaries, the author provides an exhaustive overview of this family's contribution to the evolution of the history of painting and to the marvel of the Flemish artistic tradition.