lk subjects include Peasant Kermis.Modern scholars are far from interpreting Bruegel's art as simple, whimsical folk subjects painted by an artist from mere peasant stock, as painter and art historian Karel van Mander described him in 1604. Recent writers see him as a knowledgeable man who was known to be a friend of such intellectuals as geographer Abraham Ortelius. Bruegel's pictures have been variously interpreted as referring to the beliefs of different religious thinkers, to the conflicts between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, to the political domination of the Lowlands by the Spanish, and as visual equivalents to dramatic allegories performed publicly by Flemish societies of rhetoric.Peter Bruegel began a dynasty of Flemish artists bearing his name. Pieter Brueghel the Younger was the elder of two sons born just a few years before their father's death. Known as "Hell Brueghel" because of his fascination with hobgoblins, fires, and grotesque figures, he made his career in Antwerp, where he became a master in the guild in 1585. He is best known as a copyist of his father's paintings, as they were both popular and scarce. In his own canvases, such as Village Fair and The Crucifixion, he shows a firm grasp of space and movement. He died in 1638. His son, Pieter Brueghel III (1589-?1640), was also known primarily as a copyist. Jan Brueghel was born in 1568 and became known as the "velvet Brueghel". Jan was the second son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and, like his brother Pieter Brueghel the Younger, made his career in Antwerp. Known for his still lifes of flowers and for his landscapes, he was a friend of Peter Paul Rubens and collaborated with him in paintings such as Adam and Eve in Paradise. He specialized in small wooded scenes that were finely finished and brightly colored. He died in 1625, but his style was followed by his sons. Jan Brueghel II was born in 1601 and died in 1678. Ambrosius Brueghel was born in 1617 an...
