Stuart Forster travels to Belgium, drawing inspiration from Pieter Bruegel the Elder in Brussels by visiting exhibitions 450 years on from the artist’s death.

As a photographer, I’m constantly thinking about the composition of images and how to create photographs that are innovative and unique. A recent trip to Brussels and the nearby Pajottenland brought opportunities to view inspirational artworks by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, an artist who died 450 years ago.

Disclosure: Stuart’s flights between Newcastle and Brussels were supplied by Loganair, which has not reviewed or approved this article.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder in Brussels

Photographers often say that they are looking to put a unique and personal perspective on what they see. Bruegel achieved that though he lived three centuries before the invention of photography. Using his brushes and oil paint he depicted the world in ways that had never been done previously.

Statue depicting Pieter Bruegel the Elder in Brussels, Belgium. A monkey sits on the right shoulder of the artist.

Brussels’ Royal Museum of Fine Arts

During a guided tour of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, I heard how Bruegel was the first artist to depict scenes from an elevated perspective — from a bird’s eye view — and is credited as being the first artist to paint winter landscapes.

Detail from the painting ‘The Census at Bethlehem’ at Belgium’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

What is it that inspires an artist to do something that nobody has ever previously done?

Why hadn’t artists previously stepped outside during wintertime to sketch or paint? During Bruegel’s lifetime, the climate of Flanders underwent what has been termed a ‘little ice age’. Northern Europe experienced a series of harsh winters. Perhaps observing what was happening around him inspired Bruegel to depict the winter in landscapes?

People on ice in the Bruegel painting ‘The Census at Bethlehem’ at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

A digitised immersive experience

Bruegel certainly observed people. He is famed for his depictions of peasant life. That aspect of his painting comes to life via the digitised animation of Beyond Bruegel. The immersive experience is being projected in Brussels’ Palais de la Dynastie until January 2020. Set to music, the characters of Bruegel’s paintings are shown in detail that would be difficult to observe simply by looking at a painting in a museum gallery.

Works by Bruegel displayed at ‘Beyond Bruegel’ in the Palais de la Dynastie.

The Flemish master’s depictions of feasts, such as The Peasant Wedding, count among his most celebrated works.

Part of the ‘Feast of Fools’ exhibition at Gaasbeek Castle.

That aspect of Bruegel’s work is reinterpreted by contemporary artists in the Feast of Fools exhibition, which ran at Gaasbeek Castle until 28 July 2019.

Courtyard of Gaasbeek Castle near Brussels, Belgium.

Landscape paintings by Bruegel feature scenes drawn from various locations. In that sense, he worked in a similar way to a modern Photoshop artist who selects elements from multiple photos.

The Halle Gate in Brussels is also hosting an exhibition to celebrate the life and times of Bruegel.

Bruegel’s Eye at Dilbeek

The church and watermill at Dilbeek in the Pajottenland, just west of Brussels, feature in Bruegel’s works The Blind Leading the Blind and The Magpie on the Gallows.

Filip Dujardin by his work TOPOgrafie in the ‘Bruegel’s Eye: reconstructing the landscape’ exhibition.

The two locations are the terminal points of Bruegel’s Eye, an exhibition that encourages visitors to stroll seven kilometres through the countryside in which Bruegel worked. Continuing until 31 October 2019, the art exhibition near Brussels features 15 installations by artists and designers.

Portrait of Stefan Devoldere, the curator of ‘Bruegel’s Eye: reconstructing the landscape’.

450 years on from his death, Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s legacy continues to impress and inspire.

Koen van den Broek with his work ‘Exit’ exhibited as art of ‘Bruegel’s Eye: reconstructing the landscape’.

Useful information

Take a look at the Visit Brussels and Visit Flanders websites for more information about exhibitions to commemorate the 450^th anniversary of the death of Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

I flew from Newcastle to Brussels with Loganair. The direct flight between the two cities has a duration of about 85 minutes.

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