Bruegel. L'uvre complet

(Hardback)

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The life and times of Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1526/30-1569) were marked by stark cultural conflict. He witnessed religious wars, the Duke of Alba's brutal rule as governor of the Netherlands, and the palpable effects of the Inquisition. To this day, the Flemish artist remains shrouded in mystery. We know neither where nor exactly when he was born. But while early scholarship emphasized the vernacular character of his painting and graphic work, modern research has attached greater importance to its humanistic content. Starting out as a print designer for publisher Hieronymus Cock, Bruegel produced numerous print series that were distributed throughout Europe. These depicted vices and virtues alongside jolly peasant festivals and sweeping landscape panoramas. He would eventually increasingly turn to painting, working for the cultural elite of Antwerp and Brussels. This monograph is a testament to Bruegel's evolution as an artist, one who bravely confronted the issues of his day all the while proposing new inventions and solutions. Rather than idealizing reality, he addressed the horrors of religious warfare and took a critical stand against the institution of the Church. To this end, he developed his own pictorial language of dissidence, lacing innocuous everyday scenes with subliminal statements in order to escape repercussions. To produce this XXL-sized collection, TASCHEN undertook a comprehensive photographic campaign, capturing all the breadth and splendid detail of Bruegel's oeuvre like never before. The result gathers all 40 paintings, 65 drawings, and 89 engravings in pristine reproductions-each piece a unique witness to both the religious mores and the close-knit folk culture of Bruegel's time. Marking the 450th anniversary of his death and his first ever monographic exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, this volume is the most immersive journey into Bruegel's unique visual universe. La vie et l'poque de Pieter Bruegel l'Ancien (vers 1526/1530-1569) ont t marques par de violents conflits culturels. Il a ainsi connu des guerres de religion, le rgne brutal du duc d'Albe alors gouverneur des Pays-Bas et les effets palpables de l'Inquisition. ce jour, la vie de l'artiste flamand demeure nimb de mystre. Nous ne savons pas exactement o et quand il est n. Si les rudits ont d'abord soulign le caractre vernaculaire de sa peinture et de ses gravures, la recherche moderne accorde plus d'importance l'aspect humaniste de son uvre. Aprs avoir conu des dessins prliminaires pour l'diteur Jrme Cock, Bruegel ralise plusieurs sries d'estampes qui furent distribues dans toute l'Europe. Elles dpeignent les vices et les vertus au dtour de ftes paysannes endiables et de paysages perte de vue. Il se tourne ensuite de plus en plus vers la peinture, puisant sa clientle dans l'lite culturelle d'Anvers ou de Bruxelles. Cette monographie tmoigne de l'volution d'un artiste qui prit bras le corps les grands motifs de conflit de son temps et proposa des inventions et des solutions nouvelles. Plutt que d'idaliser la ralit, il reprsenta les horreurs des guerres de religion et prit des positions critiques l'gard de l'glise catholique. Il imagina ainsi son propre rpertoire visuel de la dissidence, incorporant ses messages subliminaux dans des scnes innocentes du quotidien afin d'chapper aux blmes. Pour parvenir cette anthologie format XXL, TASCHEN a entrepris une campagne photographique d'une ampleur indite afin de saisir le souffle de l'uvre de Bruegel dans ses moindres dtails. Le livre runit ainsi l'ensemble de ses 40 toiles, 65 dessins et 89 gravures impeccablement reproduits, autant de pices qui tmoignent la fois des murs religieuses et de la culture populaire qui unissait les communauts l'poque de Bruegel. Publie l'occasion du 450e anniversaire de la mort de Bruegel et de la toute premire exposition qui lui sera exclusivement consacre, au Kunsthistorisches Museum de Vienne, cet ouvrage offre l'immersion la plus complte dans l'univers visuel unique de Bruegel.

Reviews

...one of the most imaginative, original and captivating artists in history. * The Guardian *
Bruegel. The Complete Works bring his teeming scenes to life. * The Times *
An Old Master monograph that really can claim space on the coffee table as not only a beautiful tactile object - exquisite paper, outstanding quality of reproduction, sumptuous design - but, unusually, for its absorbing, accessible, penetrating text, bringing to life a whole late-medieval world of people and ideas. * The Financial Times *
TASCHEN's monumental collection of Bruegel's work is the ideal way into his unique aesthetic world. * House & Garden *

Author Bio

Jrgen Mller holds the chair of Early Modern and Modern Art History at the Technical University of Dresden. He studied Art History at the universities of Bochum, Munster, Pisa, Paris, and Amsterdam, and has worked as an art critic and curator of numerous exhibitions. He is also the editor of TASCHENs movies by decade series. Thomas Schauerte is the director of the municipal museums in Aschaffenburg. Until 2019 he was the manager of the Albrecht Drer House, the City Museum and the art collections of the City of Nuremberg. He is a specialist in graphic art whose research focusses on Albrecht Drer and the art of the Middle Ages and the Baroque period.