BREUGHEL, the name of a famous family of Dutch painters.—PETER B., the head of the family, was b. in the village of B., near Breda, in 1510 (or, as others say, 1530), and d. at Brussels in 1570 or 1590. He was a scholar of Peter Koeck van Aelst, traveled through Italy and France, and on his fixed his residence at Antwerp. He painted chiefly the pleasures of rustic life, for which he himself had a great relish, and which he transferred to his canvas with clear insight and vivid coloring, though unnecessarily exceeding at times the coarseness of his subject. He also executed several historical pieces, such as his "Building of the Tower of Babel," now preserved in the gallery at Vienna.—His son, PETER distinguished by the strange title " Hellish Breughel"— because he loved to paint scenes in which the leading characters were devils, hags, rob bers, etc.—was b. about 1569, and d. 1625. His paintings of "Orpheus" and the "Temptation of St. Antony" are the most remarkable of his pieces.—JAN B.,
brother of the preceding, and on account of the splendid apparel which he wore when he became rich, usually called Velvet B., was b. 1508 or 1575, and d. 1625 or 1640. He was an industrious painter, distinguished for his landscapes and for his minute finish of small figures. In concert with Rubens, who supplied the two chief figures, he painted " Adam and Eve in Paradise," and " Vertumnus and Bellona." These, with the " Four Elements," are his chief works.—Other members of the same family were known as painters: AMBROSE B., director of the academy of painting, Antwerp, between the years 1635 and 1670; ABRAHAM B., a painter of fruits, flowers, and birds, lived long in Rome and Naples, where he d. in 1690; JAN BAPTIST B., b. in Rome, d. 1700; and finally, CASPAR B., both of whom were flower-painters.