Goede introductie tot leven en werk van de Vlaamse schilder uit de 16de eeuw. Goed geïllustreerd. ( )

I picked this up inspired by Michael Frayn's book 'Headlong' where the narrator enters into a possibly hairbrained pursuit after a possibly Breugel painting.

This study is very readable, and helpful on detail. It's a pity that the format of the book and the printing mean that the colour plates are hard to make out, and some more historical contextual background would have been very welcome indeed. However, Gibson is being careful that unsubstantiated ideas that Breugel's paintings were full of heavy political comment are not repeated as though they are proven fact.

His love of Breugel's treatment of landscape, Flemish and Italian tradition and his inspiration from his Alpine travels come over strongly, and it's delightful to walk with Gibson through the paintings he explores. ( )