Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Renaissance Painter

During a time of increasing religious and political conflict, Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s paintings portrayed work and pleasure, rituals and festivals of peasant life, and biblical scenes - all in startling detail. Inspired by humanist principles, Bruegel’s art questioned how well we know ourselves, often representing our ignorance and insignificance, the futility of ambition and the absurdity of pride.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Elizabeth Honig, author of Pieter Bruegel and the Idea of Human Nature, to explore further how Bruegel’s art and ideas enable people to ponder what it means to be human. 

This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store