Pieter Bruegel the Elder is internationally acclaimed as the greatest 16th century painter in the Netherlands. The 450th anniversary of his death is being celebrated in 2019. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna therefore organised the largest ever exhibition devoted solely to this artist. Here, researchers were able to study Bruegel's work in detail and this resulted in the bestseller Bruegel - The Hand of the Master. This essay volume is an addition to that publication and commemorates the 450th anniversary of the death of Pieter Bruegel the elder. The content of this book is based on the papers held during 2018's Bruegel Symposium at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
This symposium was part of an important exhibition and research project on the creative processes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and was organised by Elke Oberthaler (Head of Paintings Conservation, Kunsthistorisches Museum), Sabine Penot (Curator for Netherlandish and Dutch Painting, Kunsthistorisches Museum), Manfred Sellink (Director, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp and Professor of Art History, Ghent University) and Ron Spronk (Professor of Art History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and Radboud University, Nijmegen), with Alice Hoppe-Harnoncourt (Kunsthistorisches Museum). The symposium brought together renowned Bruegel scholars, conservators, and scientists who offered new insights into Pieter Bruegel the Elder's paintings, drawings and prints.
