Pieter Brueghel the Elder (c.1525-1569) was one of the greatest Netherlandish painters of the 16th century. His sons Pieter and Jan also became great artists and this dynasty continued into the late 17th century. He is best known for the forty or so paintings which have survived, but he was also accomplished at drawing and many of his drawings were issued as engravings. Brueghel often drew on the work of Hieronymus Bosch as inspiration for his imagery. His works have a more linear and accessible narrative than Bosch, and this perhaps has made them very popular even in our modern age.
In 1556-7 Brueghel drew a series on the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins. These images were engraved by Pieter van der Heyden (c.1530-72) an accomplished engraver who worked for the well known Antwerp print publisher Hieronymus Cock.
About the Author
Adam McLean
adammclean
Glasgow, UK.
Adam McLean, is a well known authority on and enthusiast for alchemical texts and symbolism, the editor and publisher of over 60 books on alchemical and Hermetic ideas. Based in the UK, he has been writing and researching alchemical and hermetic literature for many years.
Between 1978 and 1992 he edited the Hermetic Journal and during those years he also began publishing the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks, the important series of forty one editions of key source texts of the hermetic tradition. In 1995, when the internet became more widely available, he began to construct the alchemy web site in order to make alchemical ideas more accessible to the wider community. It is now recognised as the most important internet resource on alchemy.
McLean is a great researcher and has often discovered, buried in libraries and specialist collections, important texts, both in printed books and manuscripts, which have been neglected. In 1999 he began to produce a series of in-depth study courses