After Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1525-1569

Engraving by Pieter van der Heyden, 1557, a very good impression of New Hollstein first state (of four), with Cock's address and date, on paper with a Crowned Heart watermark, trimmed fractionally within the platemark all round, short repaired tear in blank space upper right edge, faint grey spots, a central vertical fold, other minor defects

Although this print bears the name Hieronymus Bosch, it is attributed to Bruegel who signed the preparatory drawing, now in the Albertina in Vienna. Indeed, it is believed that Bruegel’s publisher Hieronymus Cock is responsible for adding the signature of the better-known commercial artist, Bosch.

In her recent book Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Orenstein illustrates both the original drawing and the engraving, demonstrating the engraver Pieter van der Heyden’s faithful reproduction of Bruegel’s design. Van der Heyden collaborated often with Breugel and his meticulous engraving left ‘little room for invention’.  See: N. M. Orenstein, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (New York, 2001), page 141