Renaissance and Reformation Biographies | Pieter Bruegel Biography

c. 1525
Breda, Netherlands
1569
Brussels, Belgium

Painter, designer

The Dutch painter and engraving designer Pieter Bruegel (also spelled Brueghel; pronounced BROO-gehl) the Elder is considered one of the foremost artists of the late northern Renaissance. The northern Renaissance was an extension of the Italian Renaissance, a movement based on the revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture (the classical period) that began in Florence, Italy, in the mid-1300s. The Italian Renaissance was initiated by scholars called humanists who promoted the human-centered values of the classical period. Humanist ideals were soon influencing the arts, literature, philosophy, science, religion, and politics in Italy. During the early fifteenth century, innovations of the Italian Renaissance began spreading from Italy into the rest of Europe, where the movement became known as the northern Renaissance. His works...