Bruegel's Influence in Renaissance Landscape Paintings

Landscape paintings are such a common subject for art that sometimes the viewer may take it for granted. The landscape paintings of the northern and southern European Renaissance provided a major framework for Pieter Bruegel who would later change the way these landscape paintings were depicted. This Renaissance represented the landscape with the use of lighting, setting, water, deep spacing, vast terrain, a bird’s eye view, and cool color palettes. These landscape paintings from the Renaissance were extremely religious, and were used as a role in Christian devotional painting. The religious landscape paintings dominated the 1400 - mid 1500s, until Pieter Bruegel changed how nature would be perceived.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was commissioned by antwerp merchant Niclaes Jongelinck, to paint a series of paintings for decoration in his home. The end result was a series of paintings named The Seasons. These paintings step away from the Christian devotional paintings and introduce a humanistic approach. We can see in Bruegel’s paintings how human life is in harmony with the life of nature. The everyday Netherlandish peasant is depicted in each painting, and we can see how they fit in with the transformation of the landscape from each season. You will first view the traditional landscape paintings before Bruegel. The following paintings demonstrate the different humanistic landscape approach that Bruegel introduced to the Netherlands and the influence they had on future landscape paintings.  

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Harvesters, 1565, Oil on wood, 119 x 162 cm, 19.164.

This panel belongs to the series, The Seasons, and was created for antwerp merchant Niclaes Jongelinck. This is just one of the paintings Bruegel creates that steps aside traditional landscape paintings. The thin brushstrokes of the bright wheat and cool color palettes dominate the painting. The clear foreground, middle, and background make the terrain seem immense. Aspects of traditional landscape paintings consumes the piece, but the everyday peasants in the fields suppresses the religious pretext for landscape paintings. A humanistic approach is visible within the natural world of the working peasant that Bruegel observes himself. This piece of the curation is the turning point in the breakthrough from traditional landscape art.

The Annunciation of the Shepherds, Master of the Houghton Miniatures, late 1470s, Tempera colors and gold paint on parchment, The J. Paul Getty Museum. 12.5 x 9 cm

European painters shared an interest in portraying light. As we take a step back from 1565 we start to understand how art in this Renaissance was made, and the Master of the Houghton Miniatures shows us with mainly the the use of lighting. There is an angel with a golden aureole surrounding his body. Further in the distance there is a light taking over which seems to be a small building or stable. Cool color palettes for the sky control the background, which has included in it a column of golden angels. This cool depiction of this land is filled with light, which represents the significance of Christ’s birth. The Master of the Houghton Miniatures evokes the naturalistic beauty and stillness of the dark and nocturnal landscape, while at the same time bringing religious significance to the painting. While natural beauty of the landscape is depicted, the main objective of the landscape is to show Christian significance.

Vincent Raymond, The Crucifixion, 1545, Tempera and gold on Parchment, 37.2 x 26 cm, The J. Paul Getty Museum (Landscape in the Renaissance)

Raymond draws the viewer’s eyes to Christ on the cross by setting the large scale cross among the the vast atmosphere of the background. We are introduced again to the cool color palettes of the sky and of the body of Christ.  The paths of the meadow reach far into the background where we can see no end. Again, the scenery is natural depicted in this painting. The beauty of the land is portrayed, but despite the landscape, Christ is the center focus of the painting. This painting in the curation, along with The Annunciations of the Shepherds, reminds us that the center theme of these Renaissance landscape paintings were not on the landscape itself, while also allowing us to understand the difference and significance of the change Bruegel brought to the Netherlands.

Pieter Bruegel, Hunters in the Snow, 1565, Oil on panel, 117 x 162 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

This panel in the curation is the first part of Bruegel’s, The Seasons. Bruegel Drastically moves away from the traditional style of landscape paintings with the use of  “cold” color palettes that include the white of the snow and the pale green in the sky. These colors aim to show that this landscape (winter) brings sleep and death. While having similar qualities of Renaissance landscape paintings, it steps away from them by showing how nature takes control of these hunters. Bruegel’s genius design delivers not just a simple natural view of the landscape, but a humanistic observation. Human lives are affected by this season, and we get to see how these humans deal with this weather with this painting of a snowy countryside.

Pieter Bruegel, Haymaking, 1565, Oil on panel, 117 x 161 cm, Lobkowicz Collections, (Lobkowicz Palace, Prague)

This panel also belongs to the six paintings of The Seasons. Similar to The Harvesters, this landscape painting includes vast terrain with a clear foreground, middle, and background. Identical color palettes and terrain display the beauty of the environment. Bruegel creates a scene that is most likely to be seen in everyday Dutch life, however, and not just a setting for biblical subjects. Human life is dictated by the land itself, and we see how human activity is affected by the season. Almost everyone is working to gather food which depicts the average peasant’s communion with nature.

Jan Van Goyen, Castle by a River, 1647, Oil on wood, 66 x 97.2 cm, 64.65.1

The influence of Pieter Bruegel’s new landscape paintings is carried on by Jan Van Goyen with this scene of the Netherlands. The eye-catching depiction of the river, the emphasis of the sky, the castle, and the tonal color palette of the painting represents the core foundations of civilization in this time. Contrasting the fisherman and most likely, the wealthy people of the castle, portrays the difference in everyday life of the Dutch. The naturalistic design of the landscape is most visible, but Bruegel’s influence is seen with the meaning of the land to human life. Bruegel's introduction of humanism in landscape art certainly did not die with his death.