Bruegel: The Complete Graphic Works

by Maarten Bassens, Joris Van Grieken, Lieve Watteeuw

One of the greatest Flemish artists, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525/30–1569) is best known today for his paintings of peasant life. Yet it was, above all, through his exceptional graphic work that he achieved widespread fame during the sixteenth century. Bruegel offers readers the opportunity to get up close and personal with Bruegel’s famous prints, reproduced at actual size. The book provides a wonderful showcase of Bruegel’s imaginary world, featuring meticulous reproductions of his preparatory drawings and finished prints depicting Italian landscapes, the seven deadly sins, extraordinary figures, and more. Essays by a distinguished group of Bruegel scholars open the book. They discuss the Royal Library of Belgium’s collection of Bruegel prints; the results of the Fingerprint research project; Bruegel as draftsman and printmaker; Bruegel’s editions, in particular his collaboration with Hieronymus Cock; and the posthumous survival of his art.


This luxurious book accompanies a major exhibition at the Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels, a center of Bruegel scholarship that holds an unparalleled collection of the artist’s graphic work.

Genres: Art

250 pages, Hardcover

Published January 21, 2020

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still chuckle every time I read the name Hieronymus Cock. Maybe I'm immature, but Hieronymus is just a really goofy name. He's mentioned a lot here in the many essays about Bruegel. Each gives a bit of insight into this legendary painter's graphic output. But, let's face it, the reason you got this hefty coffee table book is to impress your art historian friends with the beautiful reproductions of Bruegel's prints. The images are big and there are plenty of zoomed-in details as well. It's just like being in the KBR print room but without the stupid rules about not drinking orange Fanta while browsing the flat files.