Pieter Bruegel the Younger

The eldest son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, he settled early on in Antwerp where he received his training in the studio of the landscape artist, Gillis van Coninxloo. He was made a Master in 1585. He was only five years old when his father died in 1569, so he was not able to initiate his son in painting. His mother, the daughter of painter Pieter Coecke d’Alost and she herself a painter, died when he was only an adolescent, but it seems she contributed to his apprenticeship. In 1588 he married Elisabeth Goddelet with whom he had seven children.
He was nicknamed "Hell" Brueghel even though scenes of hell were an exception in his work. There were two sides to Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s work. In the beginning, he returned to a great number of his father’s paintings and developed several versions. He added his personal touch by introducing variants, including the importance he gave to landscape, as well as his own colours that were livelier and of greater purity than those used by his father.
The second period began around 1615-1620. During this time, he asserted his personality through the creation of original paintings, which met with great success at this time, also inspiring several replicas. His son Pieter Brueghel III and Frans Snyders, the famous painter of still lifes and animals, were his students. Besides prolonging the work of his father, Pieter Brueghel II held a significant position in the 17th century especially through his fine brushwork and the purity of his colours. He influenced every Flemish painter in his century.
He had a particularly fruitful career, extending over nearly half a century, and was highly successful during his lifetime.

Submitted by De Jonckheere