"This volume celebrates the Brueghel dynasty, a family of Flemish painters who made an indelible mark on the history of European art in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. More than 100 selected paintings and drawings provide a wonderful opportunity to admire unique masterpieces: the beautiful snowy Northern European landscapes, rural scenes, village fetes and still lifes, all of which strike us for their meticulous attention to detail. The works are reflections on human existence, bringing together the sacred and the profane, faith and superstition, the cult of beauty and the seductive qualities of the grotesque."--P. [4] of cover.