Jan Breughel

This print by Anthony van Dyck and that of Justus Sustermans are examples of one famous artist recording another. They form part of Van Dyck’s Iconography, an engraved series of portraits showing the distinguished men of his day. Flemish artist Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625) was the son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, the celebrated painter of peasant scenes. As the Latin inscription suggests, he had an international reputation as a painter of jewel-like landscapes and still lifes. This print was probably made after a study drawn from life, and the way the head is more finished than the body recaptures the spontaneity of the original drawing.