这本专著证明了Bruegel作为一名画家的智慧，因为他勇敢地面对他所生活的时代存在的问题，同时一直在提出新的发明和解决方案。他没有理想化现实，而是去处理宗教战争的恐怖，并对天主教采取了批判的立场。

这本超大尺寸的作品集汇集了所有的39幅油画、65幅素描和89幅刻版画，每一件作品都是对Bruegel所处时代的宗教习俗和关系紧密的民间文化的独特见证。我们发现，尽管他早逝，但Bruegel的作品揭示了对抗意大利文艺复兴潮流的趋势。幸存的讽刺诗和批判主题说明了他与他亲罗马的艺术家朋友、米开朗基罗和拉斐尔的崇拜者之间的鸿沟。

纪念Bruegel逝世450周年和他在维也纳美术历史博物馆举办的**次也是**一次作品展，这本专著是进入Bruegel****的视觉宇宙的一次最身临其境的旅程。

The life and times of Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1526/30-1569) were marked by stark cultural conflict. He witnessed religious wars, the Duke of Alba's brutal rule as governor of the Netherlands, and the palpable effects of the Inquisition. To this day, the Flemish artist remains shrouded in mystery. We know neither where nor exactly when he was born. But while early scholarship emphasized the vernacular character of his painting and graphic work, modern research has attached greater importance to its humanistic content.Starting out as a print designer for publisher Hieronymus Cock, Bruegel produced numerous print series that were distributed throughout Europe. These depicted vices and virtues alongside jolly peasant festivals and sweeping landscape panoramas. He would eventually increasingly turn to painting, working for the cultural elite of Antwerp and Brussels.This monograph is a testament to Bruegel's evolution as an artist, one who bravely confronted the issues of his day all the while proposing new inventions and solutions. Rather than idealizing reality, he addressed the horrors of religious warfare and took a critical stand against the institution of the Church. To this end, he developed his own pictorial language of dissidence, lacing innocuous everyday scenes with subliminal statements in order to escape repercussions.To produce this XXL-sized collection, TASCHEN undertook a comprehensive photographic campaign, capturing all the breadth and splendid detail of Bruegel's oeuvre like never before. The result gathers all 40 paintings, 65 drawings, and 89 engravings in pristine reproductions-each piece a unique witness to both the religious mores and the close-knit folk culture of Bruegel's time.Marking the 450th anniversary of his death and his first ever monographic exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, this volume is the most immersive journey into Bruegel's unique visual universe.