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Netherlandish, Flemish Northern Renaissance painter. Known for his landscapes and peasant scenes. He was nicknamed "Peasant Bruegel" for his alleged practice of dressing up like a peasant in order to mingle at weddings and other celebrations, thereby gaining inspiration and authentic details for his genre paintings. From 1559 he dropped the 'h' from his name and started signing his paintings as Bruegel. He was an apprentice of Pieter Coecke van Aelst, whose daughter Mayken he later married. He spent some time in France and Italy, and then went to Antwerp, where in 1551 he was accepted as a master in the painter's guild. In his later years he painted in a simpler style than the Italianate art that prevailed in his time. It was in nature, however, that he found his greatest inspirations as he is identified as being a master of landscapes. It was in these landscapes that he created a story, with almost several scenes seemingly combined in one painting.
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