Description
Book SynopsisBorn in Brussels and trained by his grandmother, Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) was called Velvet Brueghel for his skill at painting rich and delicate textures. The biblical story of Noah's ark provided a subject well suited to Brueghel's abilities. In his painting, a few curious villages stand beside a stream foreshadowing the coming deluge and watch as Noah herds ostriches, goats, camels, and other exotic animals toward the ark. Next to a prancing white stallion, a lion and lioness chase each other's tails, while a pair of leopards frolic under the watchful eye of a bull. Brueghel has created a delightful scene celebrating the beauty and variety of creation. This monograph takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Brueghel's fascinating paradise landscape, exploring Renaissance zoology, religious views on nature, and the culture of collecting and cataloguing animals and natural specimens The volume is brilliantly illustrated with paintings of landscapes and animals by a
