Pieter Aertsen facts for kids
Pieter Aertsen (1508–1575) was a Dutch painter. People called him Lange Piet (Tall Pete) because he was very tall. He painted in a style called Northern Mannerism.
Aertsen was known for creating a new type of painting. These paintings mixed scenes of everyday life, called genre scenes, with still life. Still life means painting objects like food or tools. Often, his paintings also had a small Bible story hidden in the background. He worked in his hometown of Amsterdam and also in Antwerp, which was a big art center at the time. His paintings influenced later artists in the Netherlands and Italy. His scenes of peasants came a few years before similar famous paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Career
Pieter Aertsen was born in Amsterdam. He learned how to paint from an artist named Allaert Claesz. Later, he moved to the Southern Netherlands and lived in Antwerp.
In Antwerp, Aertsen became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke. This was like an artist's club or union. In 1542, he became a citizen of Antwerp. Aertsen returned to Amsterdam around 1555 or 1556.
Painting Style and Subjects
Aertsen first painted religious works. In the 1550s, he started painting scenes of daily life. He showed furniture, cooking tools, and food with great detail.
His painting Butcher's Shop, with the Flight into Egypt (1551) is a good example. In this painting, the everyday scene of a butcher's shop is very big and detailed. A small Bible story, the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt, is in the background. This was a new way to paint. It made the "lower" subject (the butcher's shop) more important than the religious story.
In the Butcher's Shop painting, you can see different parts of life. There's a church, the Holy Family giving to the poor, and people eating mussels and oysters. A sign in the painting even advertises land for sale. The painting shows different choices people can make in life. It might have been ordered by the Butcher's Guild in Antwerp.
Later in his life, Aertsen also painted more traditional religious scenes. However, many of these paintings are now lost. This happened during a time called the Beeldenstorm (iconoclasm). During this time, many religious artworks in churches were destroyed. Some of his best works were lost in Amsterdam in 1578. This was when Amsterdam officially changed from Catholicism to Protestantism. One religious painting that still exists is the Crucifixion in Antwerp.
Aertsen's style of putting still life and everyday figures in the front, with small history scenes in the back, was very new. His figures, especially the women, were often shown with dignity. They were not made to look funny, unlike some other artists' work.
Legacy
Pieter Aertsen had several students who learned from him. These included Stradanus and his nephews, Joachim Beuckelaer and Huybrecht Beuckeleer. Joachim Beuckelaer continued and developed Aertsen's unique painting style.
Personal Life
Pieter Aertsen married Kathelijne Beuckelaar. She was the daughter and sister of a painter from Antwerp. She was also the aunt of Joachim and Huybrecht Beuckeleer. Pieter and Kathelijne had eight children. Three of their sons became successful painters: Pieter, Aert, and Dirk.
Images for kids
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Market Scene
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Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, 1553
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Peasants by the Hearth, 1560
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Market Scene, 1569
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Die Eierfrau
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Die vier Evangelisten
See also
In Spanish: Pieter Aertsen para niños
