The Brueghels. The Origins of Pictorial Genres in Europe
For generations, the Brueghel family left its mark on European painting. Palazzo Reale in Milan brings this artistic legacy together in The Brueghels. The Origins of Pictorial Genres in Europe, an exhibition exploring the development of painting in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the generations that followed found inspiration in the world around them. Landscapes, rural life, flowers, animals and scenes of everyday life came to occupy an increasingly prominent place in painting. Their work reflects a period in which artists began to specialise more closely in particular subjects, as landscape, still life and other genres gradually emerged as distinct fields of painting.
Four works from The Phoebus Foundation collection feature in the exhibition. In Milan, they are shown alongside works from international collections, tracing how the Brueghels’ visual language evolved across generations and travelled throughout Europe.
From Brueghel to Floral Still Life
Want to discover more of Jan I Brueghel’s world? The Phoebus Focus Flowers in a Vase with a Clump of Cyclamen and Precious Stones centres on one of his earliest flower pieces, with particular attention to his sources of inspiration and painting technique.
Forever Flowers – Mastery and Meaning of Flower Paintings in the Low Countries (1600–1700) explores Flemish flower painting in greater depth, featuring works by artists including Jan I Brueghel, Daniël Seghers and Jan Davidsz. de Heem.