Jan Brueghel the Elder (Velvet or Floral) is the name and nicknames of the famous Flemish (South Dutch) painter. The artists were his father, brother and son. He was born in 1568 in the city of Brussels, and died in 1625, in Antwerp.
The son of a famous father
Jan Brueghel was born in the family of a famous father. He was an outstanding Dutch artist Peter Brueghel the Elder, an engraver and draftsman. He was rightly considered the founder of Flemish and Dutch art. Yang did not remember his father, since he died one year after the birth of the boy.
Bruegel began his studies in Antwerp. His painting teachers were artists such as Peter Gutkint (Goetkindt) and Gillisa van Connnickslo. At the age of twenty, Brueghel went to Italy for further studies. This happened in 1589.
In Italy
In 1592, he moved to Rome and lived there for three years, until 1595. There, Paul Bril becomes his close friend, an artist whose specialty was the depiction of landscapes. Also in Rome, Jan Brueghel the Elder made a short acquaintance with a very influential person. He was Archbishop Frederigo Boromeo. This acquaintance favorably influenced his life, as the archbishop began to provide patronage to the young painter. Boromeo later invited Brueghel to move to Milan.
Homecoming
In 1596, Jan returned to the South Netherlands, to Antwerp. In 1597, due to the fact that he was the son of a famous master, he was accepted into the guild of artists of this city. She bore the name of St. Luke, who, among other things, is the patron saint of the painters' workshop.
Ian worked very hard and hard. After a short period of time, fame came to him. He managed to get an honorable and advantageous position at the court of Archduke Albrecht. He becomes a court painter. In addition, being awarded the trust of the highest persons, he more than once performed various orders of the Archduke and even Rudolph II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Marriage, court life, demise
In January, Jan Brueghel the Elder married. In September 1601, the first of his sons was born to him. Later he also became a painter who is known as Jan Brueghel the Younger.
From 1601 to 1602, Yan was dean of the Guild of Artists named after St. Luke. In 1604 he made a trip to Prague. Later he was listed at the court of Albrecht and Isabella, governors of the Spanish Netherlands in Brussels. This is evidenced by the mention that has reached us, which dates from 1606.
The painter worked a lot and fruitfully. His paintings are available in most art museums in the world. Many of his drawings have also been preserved. The artist Jan Brueghel the Elder died in 1625, becoming a victim of cholera. Three of his children, son Peter and daughters Maria and Elizabeth, also died from the same disease.
Friendship with Rubens
Jan Brueghel was bound by a very close bond of friendship with Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640). The latter was a prominent Flemish painter, one of the founders of Baroque art, a diplomat and collector. In the creative heritage of Rubens, there are more than 3 thousand paintings, many of which he wrote together with his students and colleagues.
One of these co-authors was Brueghel. So, these two great artists were in 1617-1618. the allegorical painting Four Elements and Five Senses is written. Also, the fruit of the joint work of Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder is a painting entitled "Paradise", where the landscape is written first, and the figures of Adam and Eve are the second.
Rubens’s statements are known in which he spoke of Jan as his older brother. Rubens painted a group portrait entitled "The Family of Jan Brueghel", where the artist is depicted with his wife and two children.
Jan Brueghel Flower
As already mentioned above, the Flemish painter grew up, not knowing his father, who had early passed away from the life of a boy. Ian was brought up by Maria Bessemers-Vergulst, her grandmother, who was an experienced miniature. Her specialty was flower painting.
Under her influence, the artist also became a miniaturist and remained with him all his life. He used the finest brushes and the brightest colors that he combined in pleasant chords. Also, he was always faithful and love of flowers. In many paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder there are myriads of motley flowers scattered here and there. Some of the canvases adorn only they alone, sitting in the form of beautiful magnificent bouquets.
Bruegel became famous for his detailed image of flower still lifes and wreaths, which he depicted with great skill. He possessed the ability to masterfully, with great persuasiveness, to convey the combination of colors, shape, brightness and beauty of colors. This spoke of him as an artist who loved and carefully studied nature.
Having among his patrons the Archduke, Brueghel entered the royal greenhouses, where the rarest of plants grew. An interesting fact is that he wrote exclusively from nature and at the same time he could wait for months for a flowering plant to bloom. This was especially characteristic of the early stage of the artist's work. He later mastered other genres. It is, for example, about:
- landscape;
- household genre;
- still life;
- historical painting.
Nicknamed Velvet
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch art, which at that time had an official, aristocratic trend, was gradually penetrated by “plebeian”, peasant themes, under the influence of democratic ideas. She did not pass the work of Jan Brueghel the Elder. In his legacy there are many magnificent landscapes that are animated by small figures of people. Often there are biblical motifs. It is, for example, about “Landscape with farewell of Tobiah”, “Forest landscape with flight to Egypt”.
Along with complex allegories, "paradise" landscapes, enchanted forests, species typical of his homeland appear. These are country roads with carts, village streets with taverns and revelers, pedestrians and riders, windmills and endless plains, wooded shores and canals. These colorful and elegant paintings are made in miniature technique in the most thorough manner.
Their surface is very smooth, juicy, delicate, beautiful clothes are present on it. Such epithet as “luxurious tenderness” is applied to Brueghel’s painting, which reflects the main secret of its charm, which the artist owes the nickname Velvet.
The life of Jan Brueghel the Elder was accompanied by sheer success. Patrons vied to order paintings for him, and his comrades, among whom were the greatest artists, invariably invited him to cooperate.