Peter Bruegel (1606): Art, History and Details

Peter Bruegel (1606) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Aegidius Sadeler (Flemish, c. 1570–1629); Bartholomaeus Spranger (Flemish, 1546–1611).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Around 1600, three decades after the death of artist Pieter Bruegel (about 1525-1569), a renewed interest in his work sparked the so-called Bruegel Renaissance. Admired for his scenes of everyday life and his realistic landscapes, he was highly praised for faithfully following nature. Appropriately, the inscription on Sadeler's print is a lengthy discussion about the imitation of nature, a matter of great interest to artists at the time. Bruegel is surrounded by Minerva and Mercury (who here personify Art and Eloquence, respectively) and a composite figure of Fortune and Fame. The cherub bearing the skull and torch at bottom is probably Thanatos, a classical symbol of death. He bows to mourn the artist, but as the still-flaming torch indicates, Bruegel's genius and fame are immortal.

Object facts

• Title: Peter Bruegel
• Date: 1606
• Creator attribution: Aegidius Sadeler (Flemish, c. 1570–1629); Bartholomaeus Spranger (Flemish, 1546–1611)
• Culture: Flanders
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 30.1 x 20.4 cm (11 7/8 x 8 1/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1925.1218

Collection credit

Gift of P. & D. Colnaghi Co.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.