Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625) is one of the most important Flemish painters of the early 17th century. He developed his own individual style at an early stage. His small-format landscape paintings, true-to-life floral works and richly detailed allegories were ground-breaking for Flemish Baroque painting. 

Pieter Bruegel the Elder: A Country Wedding, ca. 1630
© Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, Munich

With 49 works painted in the artist’s own hand, the holdings at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich are unique and document Jan Brueghel the Elder’s œuvre in its many facets. Several major works were created in cooperation with other artists – such as Virgin in a Flower Garland together with Peter Paul Rubens and the magnificent ‘Seasons’ cycle with Hendrik van Balen. In addition, the exhibition highlights the works of a whole family of artists, as works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Younger and Jan van Kessel are also on show in the Alte Pinakothek.

Prominent loans, including paintings, drawings and prints from international museums in Madrid, Budapest, Florence, Rotterdam, London, Paris and Vienna, as well as from German collections in Coburg, Dresden, Brunswick and Dessau, among others, complement the holdings in Munich. As such, the exhibition does not just offer an overview of Brueghel’s multifaceted and richly detailed pictorial compositions but, at the same time,also provides a fascinating insight into the production of artworks in Antwerp around 1600.