Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Copenhagen Oil Sketch of the Strife between Carnival and Lent, 1562

The Bruegel Success Story. This small phrase evokes the brand invented by the great Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1526/7–69), which was capitalised on by his two sons and many followers. It was the natural theme for a symposium that brought together art historians, scientists and connoisseurs to celebrate the art of Pieter Bruegel and his indelible influence on the generations that followed. The idea for The Bruegel Success Story Colloquium took root at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage in Brussels, where Bruegel’s most enigmatic painting, the Dulle Griet, was being restored in preparation for the great Bruegel exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2018-19. The papers presented at the symposium that now appear as beautifully illustrated essays in this book are the fruit of research by both renowned experts and relative newcomers, all of whom have been profoundly touched by the art of Pieter Bruegel and his progeny.