Brueghel, Jan the Elder (1568-1625)
The Temptation in the Garden of Eden
c.1600
Oil on oak panel, 84 × 71.3 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Jan Bruegel the Elder (1568-1625) was the second son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525-1569) and received his training from his maternal grandmother, Mayken Verhulst, and Pieter Goetkindt (died 1583) because of the early death of his father. In the 1590s, he travelled to Italy where he met his lifetime patron, Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1568-1631), archbishop of Milan and returned to Antwerp shortly before 1597, where he became a member of the Guild of St Luke. In 1606, Jan Bruegel the Elder became court painter to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella, the regents in the southern Netherlands and travelled in Holland with friends Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Heindrick van Balen (1575-1632) and visited Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) in Haarlem. Among his pupils were his son, Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-1678) who imitated his father’s work and Daniel Seghers (1590-1661).
This painting is a good example of Jan Bruegel the Elder‘s landscape tradition that shows in colourful landscapes, a profusion of animals and figures including rich and varied vegetation. The highly detailed depiction of the animals and other figures witnesses his interest in nature and reveals his encyclopaedic conception of the world. This composition was very popular and was extensively copied by Jan Bruegel the Elder‘s himself but also by close followers among whom could be his own son, Jan Brueghel the Younger. The representation of paradise as a pictorial theme was extensively exploited by the artist who produced many versions of it. (V&A)
Compare:
Brueghel, Jan the Elder (1568-1625)
The Garden of Eden
c.1610–1612
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid