Renaissance Painter · Active 1556 – 1571
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Pieter Bruegel the Elder is among the painters whose work defines the Renaissance era. Paintale holds 14 of Elder’s works in its collection, spanning themes of daily life, portrait, love & romance.
Where to see the work: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (14)
Avarice (Avaritia), from the series The Seven Deadly Sins
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Euntes in Emaus (Landscape with Pilgrims at Emmaus), from "The Large Landscapes"
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
St. James and the Magician Hermogenes from The Story of the Magician Hermogenes
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
About Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Working at the height of the Renaissance period, Pieter Bruegel the Elder produced a body of work that remains foundational to Western art. The recurring themes across the surviving paintings — daily life, portrait, love & romance — show an artist returning to the same questions about the human figure, light, and the moral weight of a scene that Renaissance painting was uniquely equipped to answer.
Today, paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder are held in major institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each work on Paintale unpacks the subject, the symbolism, the technique, and the long afterlife of the painting — why it was commissioned, what its earliest viewers were expected to see, and why it still rewards close looking today.
Frequently asked about Pieter Bruegel the Elder
- When did Pieter Bruegel the Elder live?
- Pieter Bruegel the Elder was active around 1556 – 1571, during the Renaissance period.
- Where can I see paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder?
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- What themes did Pieter Bruegel the Elder paint?
- Daily Life, Portrait, Love & Romance.