Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Large Alpine Landscape, c. 1555-56

Artist: Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1525 - 1569)
Title:Large Alpine Landscape, c. 1555-56
Medium:Original Engraving
Image Size:18 3/8 in x 14 1/2 in (46.8 cm x 36.8 cm)
Sheet Size:18 3/8 in x 14 1/2 in (46.8 cm x 36.8 cm)
Framed Size:35 in x 31 1/8 in (88.9 cm x 79.1 cm)
Signature:The signature of Bruegel (Breda, 1525 - Brussels, 1569) is inscribed in the lower right: 'BRVEGHEL INVE| H. cock excudeb.'
Condition:This work is in excellent condition, a bold impression.
ID #w-3213

Historical Description

Originally engraved in c. 1555-56, this exquisite landscape print was engraved under Brueghels (Breda, 1525 - Brussels, 1569) direction by Jan and Lucas van Duetecum. Inscribed in the lower right: 'BRVEGHEL INVE| H. cock excudeb.'

According to N. Orenstein (2001), "A majestic Alpine landscape unfolds, dotted with towns, trees, animals, and a few travelers. On the right a man on horseback pauses to view the scene along with us… In The Large Alpine Landscape we are immediately confronted by the face of a steep ridge, the top of which serves as a path down the mountain. The powerful presence of the scene and its departure from traditional compositional formulas tell us that if any of Bruegel's landscape prints were taken from drawing he made on his journey through the Alps, it would have to be this one" (p. 136).

Documented and Illustrated in:
1. Bastelaer, René van. The Prints of Peter Bruegel the Elder, Catalogue Raisonné New Edition, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts: San Francisco, 1992. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 18 on pg. 67.
2. Klein, H. Arthur. Graphic Worlds of Peter Bruegel the Elder, Dover Publications: New York, 1963. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 8 on pgs. 43-45.
3. Lavalley, Jacques. Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Lucas van Leyden, Harry N. Abrams, Inc: New York. Listed and illustrated as catalogue no. 18.
4. Orenstein, Nadine M., ed. for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints, Yale University Press: New Haven, 2001. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 35 on pg. 136.
5. Sellink, M. Pieter Bruegel: The Complete Paintings, Drawings and Prints. Ludion: NY, 2007. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no.8 on pgs 24-25.
6. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:
This work is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complimentary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.