The Death of the Virgin (Bruegel)

Last updated
The Death of the Virgin
Pieter Bruegel the Elder - Death of the Virgin - WGA03468.jpg
Artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year1564
Medium Oil on oak panel
Dimensions677 x 853 x 126 mm
Location Upton House, Warwickshire

The Death of the Virgin, also known as The Dormition of the Virgin, is a 1564 grisaille painting by Dutch and Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder, depicting the death of the Virgin Mary with the Apostles and other figures in attendance. It is now displayed in Upton House and under the care of the National Trust. [1] It is one of the three surviving grisailles by Bruegel. [2]

Contents

Background

The Virgin Mary's death is recorded as an apocryphal story in the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine. It inspired Bruegel's The Death of the Virgin and works by other artists. [2] [3] Depictions of the scene typically limit those in attendance to the apostles, making Bruegel's painting unique. [4] Bruegel's painting shows similarities to Martin Schongauer's and Albrecht Dürer's engravings of the same scene which may suggest inspiration. [2]

Charles de Tolnay stated that the composition was inspired by the miniature La Mort, painted by Simon Bening in the Grimani Breviary between 1505 and 1510. [1] [5] Walter S. Gibson also noted the similarities. [6]

Infrared reflectography has shown a minimal amount of underdrawing carried out with brushes. [1] The underdrawn lines show that the cat was originally slightly more to the right, the woman plumping the pillow was also more to the right and the bed may have been smaller. [1]

History

Engraving of The Death of the Virgin, produced by Philips Galle The Death of the Virgin MET DP826003.jpg
Engraving of The Death of the Virgin, produced by Philips Galle

The Death of the Virgin was originally owned by Abraham Ortelius and may have been commissioned by him. [7] In 1574, Ortelius asked Philips Galle to reproduce the painting as engravings for which he wrote an inscription. [8] [7] [9] [10] He then distributed these prints to his friends including notable figures Dirck Volkertszoon Coornhert and Benedictus Montanus. [7] [9] Coornhert wrote a poem dedicated to Bruegel and Galle which noted the gift. [8] In 1590, Benito Arias Montano requested an impression of the engraving. In a letter to Ortelius, he described the grisaille, which he had seen previously, as 'painted in the most skillful manner and with the greatest piety'. [11] Pieter Bruegel the Younger made multiple copies of The Death of the Virgin, one of which was in colour. [3]

Provenance

After Ortelius' death, The Death of the Virgin was acquired first by Isabella Brant and then by her husband Peter Paul Rubens. [12] [3] After his death in 1640, the painting was described in the inventory of his possessions as 'blanc et noir du Vieux Breugel'. [4] [13] [14] In English, this translates to 'white and black by Breugel the Elder'. [13] In 1691, the painting is mentioned in the inventory of Jean-Baptiste Anthoine. [1] [13] Lord Lee of Fareham acquired the painting for his collection at Richmond in 1930 from an art dealer in London. [1] [13] [14]

Exhibition history

In 2013, The Death of the Virgin was displayed in the exhibition New Light on Old Masters at the Squash Court Gallery. [1] The painting was also displayed in the exhibition Bruegel in Black & White: Three Grisailles Reunited alongside Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery and Three Soldiers, the two other surviving grisailles by Bruegel, in 2016. [1] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieter Bruegel the Elder</span> Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painter

Pieter Bruegelthe Elder was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes ; he was a pioneer in presenting both types of subject as large paintings.

<i>The Fight Between Carnival and Lent</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Fight Between Carnival and Lent was painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1559. It is a panorama of contemporary life in the Southern Netherlands. While the painting contains nearly 200 characters, it is unified under the theme of the transition from Shrove Tuesday to Lent, the period forty days before Easter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Galle</span> Dutch engraver and publisher (1537–1612)

PhilipGalle was a Dutch publisher, best known for publishing old master prints, which he also produced as designer and engraver. He is especially known for his reproductive engravings of paintings.

<i>The Tower of Babel</i> (Bruegel) Three paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Tower of Babel was the subject of three paintings by Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The first, a miniature painted on ivory, was painted in 1552–1553 while Bruegel was in Rome, and is now lost. The two surviving works are oil paintings on wood panels, sometimes distinguished by the prefix "Great" and "Little" and by their present location: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien in Vienna and the latter in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The Tower of Babel in Vienna is dated 1563, while the version is Rotterdam is undated but widely believed to have been painted sometime after.

<i>The Peasant Wedding</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Peasant Wedding is a 1567 genre painting by the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker Pieter Bruegel the Elder, one of his many depicting peasant life. It is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Pieter Bruegel the Elder enjoyed painting peasants and different aspects of their lives in so many of his paintings that he has been called Peasant-Bruegel, but he was an intellectual, and many of his paintings have a symbolic meaning as well as a moral aspect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Bol</span> Flemish painter

Hans Bol or Jan Bol, was a Flemish painter, miniature painter, print artist and draftsman. He is known for his landscapes, allegorical and biblical scenes, and genre paintings executed in a late Northern Mannerist style.

<i>The Magpie on the Gallows</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Magpie on the Gallows is a 1568 oil-on-wood panel painting by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It is now in the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt.

<i>Netherlandish Proverbs</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Netherlandish Proverbs is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder that depicts a scene in which humans and, to a lesser extent, animals and objects, offer literal illustrations of Dutch-language proverbs and idioms.

<i>The Hunters in the Snow</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Hunters in the Snow, also known as The Return of the Hunters, is a 1565 oil-on-wood painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Northern Renaissance work is one of a series of works, five of which still survive, that depict different times of the year. The painting is in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. This scene is set in the depths of winter during December/January.

<i>The Blind Leading the Blind</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Blind Leading the Blind, Blind, or The Parable of the Blind is a painting by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, completed in 1568. Executed in distemper on linen canvas, it measures 86 cm × 154 cm. It depicts the Biblical parable of the blind leading the blind from the Gospel of Matthew 15:14, and is in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy.

<i>Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery</i> (Bruegel) Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery is a small panel painting in grisaille by the Netherlandish Renaissance printmaker and painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It is signed and dated 1565.

<i>The Land of Cockaigne</i> (Bruegel) Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Het Luilekkerland — known in English as The Land of Cockaigne — is a 1567 oil painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. In medieval times, Cockaigne was a mythical land of plenty, but Bruegel's depiction of Cockaigne and its residents is not meant to be a flattering one. He chooses rather a comic illustration of the spiritual emptiness believed to derive from gluttony and sloth, two of the seven deadly sins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peeter Baltens</span> Flemish Renaissance painter

Peeter Baltens, Pieter Balten or Pieter Custodis, was a Flemish Renaissance painter, draughtsman, engraver and publisher. Baltens was also active as an art dealer and poet. He was known for his genre paintings, religious compositions and landscapes.

<i>The Beggars</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Beggars or The Cripples is an oil-on-panel by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, painted in 1568. It is now in the Louvre in Paris.

<i>The Misanthrope</i> (Bruegel) Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Misanthrope is a tempera painting on canvas by the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, created in 1568. It currently is held and exhibited at the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, Italy.

<i>The Peasant and the Nest Robber</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Peasant and the Nest Robber is an oil-on-panel painting by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, painted in 1568. It is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

<i>The Fall of the Rebel Angels</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Fall of the Rebel Angels is an oil-on-panel painting of 1562 by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The painting is 117cm x 162cm and is now in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, Belgium. The Fall of Rebel Angels depicts Lucifer along with the other fallen angels that have been banished from heaven. Angels are falling from the sun in a stacked manner along with ungodly creatures that Bruegel created. This piece by Bruegel was previously thought to be by Hieronymus Bosch. Bruegel was influenced by a variety of artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Frans Floris I, and Hieronymus Bosch. He also got ideas for the creation of his creatures in his previous works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieter van der Heyden</span> Flemish printmaker

Pieter van der Heyden was a Flemish printmaker who is known for his reproductive engravings after works by leading Flemish painters and designers of the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolaes Jonghelinck</span> Art collector from Antwerp (1517–1570)

Nicolaes Jonghelinck (1517–1570) was a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp. He is best known for his collection of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Frans Floris. His brother was the sculptor Jacques Jonghelinck.

<i>Naval Battle in the Gulf of Naples</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Naval Battle in the Gulf of Naples is an oil painting on panel by the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, painted from 1558 to 1562. It is in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Trust, National. "The Dormition of the Virgin". www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  2. 1 2 3 Sellink, Manfred (2007). Bruegel: the complete paintings, drawings and prints. The classical art series. Ghent: Ludion. pp. 194–195. ISBN   978-90-5544-686-5.
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts-Jones, Philippe (2012). Bruegel. Master artists. Paris: Flammarion. pp. 135–138. ISBN   978-2-08-020106-5.
  4. 1 2 Glück, Gustav (1930). "A Newly Discovered Painting by Brueghel the Elder". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 56 (327): 284–285. ISSN   0951-0788. JSTOR   864336.
  5. ↑ de Tolnay, Charles (1935). Pierre Bruegel L'Ancien (in French). Brussels. pp. 51–2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ Gibson, Walter S. (1977). Bruegel. New York and Toronto: Oxford University Press. p. 133.
  7. 1 2 3 Kaminska, Barbara A. (2019). Pieter Bruegel the Elder: religious art for the urban community. Art and material culture in medieval and Renaissance Europe. University of California Santa Barbara. Leiden Boston: Brill. p. 187. ISBN   978-90-04-40840-1.
  8. 1 2 Sellink, Manfred (2007). Bruegel: the complete paintings, drawings and prints. The classical art series. Ghent: Ludion. p. 194. ISBN   978-90-5544-686-5.
  9. 1 2 Meganck, Tine (2017). Erudite eyes: friendship, art and erudition in the network of Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598). Studies in Netherlandish art and cultural history. Leiden Boston: Brill. p. 200. ISBN   978-90-04-34248-4.
  10. ↑ Sellink, Manfred (2007). Bruegel: the complete paintings, drawings and prints. The classical art series. Ghent: Ludion. p. 20. ISBN   978-90-5544-686-5.
  11. ↑ Müller, Jürgen; Orenstein, Nadine M.; Plomp, Michiel C.; Sellink, Manfred (2001). "Catalogue". Pieter Bruegel the Elder: drawings and prints. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press. p. 258. ISBN   978-0-87099-990-1.
  12. ↑ Meganck, Tine (2017). Erudite eyes: friendship, art and erudition in the network of Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598). Studies in Netherlandish art and cultural history. Leiden Boston: Brill. p. 217. ISBN   978-90-04-34248-4.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Editore, Rizzoli (1961). Denis, Valentin (ed.). All the paintings of Pieter Bruegel. Translated by Colacicchi, Paul. New York: Hawthorn Books. pp. 33–34.
  14. 1 2 Hughes, Robert (1970). The Complete Paintings of Bruegel. New York: H.N. Abrams. p. 99.
  15. ↑ "Bruegel in Black & White: Three Grisailles Reunited". The Courtauld. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.