Pieter Brueghel the Elder

Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted the whole of human life seen from a little above: crowds of villagers dancing, feasting, working and playing, set in vast landscapes of fields, rivers and mountains. His peasants are solid and lively rather than comic, and every corner of his pictures holds a small story.

He was probably born around 1525, perhaps near Breda, and became a master in the Antwerp painters’ guild in 1551. He then travelled through Italy, reaching as far south as Reggio Calabria. For years he designed prints in Antwerp, then moved to Brussels in 1563 after his marriage and died there in 1569. About forty paintings survive, including The Hunters in the Snow and Children’s Games in Vienna and Dulle Griet in Antwerp. His sons Pieter the Younger and Jan carried on the family name.

Children’s Games shows dozens of different games at once: try to count them.