But before considering the magnificent array of close on fifty
authentic works by the master which form part of the French national
collection, reference will have to be made to a few Flemish artists
of the singularly barren decades that precede the advent of Rubens.
First and foremost among these is Pieter Brueghel (or Breughel) the
Elder (1530-1569), who was born at Breda in 1530, became a pupil of
Pieter Koeck, and died at Brussels in 1569. In spite of his early
travels in Italy—which were then already considered indispensable for
the completion of an artist’s training—he remained unaffected by the
all-pervading Italian influence. He was pure Flemish in thought and
expression, and devoted himself to the realistic painting of peasant
life. Certain realistic features which make his pictures sometimes
appear obscene and coarse to modern eyes are merely an expression of
the humour of his age. The exquisite little painting, _The Beggars_
(No. 1917), which is fully signed