Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Renaissance master Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569) created the most vivid images of 16th-century Flemish life through his landscapes and peasant scenes. Born probably in Breda, he trained under Pieter Coecke van Aelst before traveling to Italy around 1552-53. Unlike most northern artists, he absorbed not classical ruins but Alpine scenery, which transformed his approach to landscape. Settling in Antwerp, then Brussels, he worked for sophisticated humanist patrons despite his nickname "Peasant Bruegel."

The Hunters in the Snow (1565) is considered one of Western art's greatest landscapes, showing weary hunters returning to a snow-covered village with skaters on frozen ponds below. This painting belongs to a series depicting the months or seasons, of which five survive. Bruegel also created moralistic and satirical works drawing on Bosch's fantastical imagery. He founded a dynasty of painters including sons Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Jan Brueghel. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna holds the largest collection, including the Months series. The Metropolitan Museum displays The Harvesters.