In this episode, we’ll be visiting The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Younger at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King.
Pieter Brueghel the Younger was born in Brussels in 1564 and was a Flemish painter He is known for his many copies of his father’s work; Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The son was traditionally well known as “Hellish Brueghel” because it was thought that he liked to paint pretty heavy and fiery devilish paintings! This particular painting was bequeathed by Richard Edward Kerrich in 1872. The museum tells us about The Triumph of Death painting: “The design for Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s harrowing picture originates in the work of his father, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525/30- 69). His Triumph of Death, (1562, Museo del Prado, Madrid) is one of his most inventive compositions. He created his own imposing vision of the late-medieval allegory of the Dance of Death: the universal force which disregards all stations in life, uniting them in one common destiny.” The painting is on loan to the museum from a Private Collection. It’s interesting to note that he copied his fathers work by a technique called “Pouncing”… you should look it up.
By Anthony King (c)