Bruegel's Three Soldiers

New volume in the Frick Diptych series features an illuminating essay by Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Anna-Claire Stinebring paired with a contribution by acclaimed figurative painter Salman Toor. One of the greatest Netherlandish painters of the sixteenth century, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525-1569) is best known for his landscapes and peasant scenes. One of only three signed works by Bruegel in the United States, The Three Soldiers was once in the celebrated collection of Charles I of England. The small panel in grisaille (shades of gray) represents a trio of Landsknechte, the mercenary foot soldiers whose flamboyant costumes and poses were a popular subject for printmakers of the period. This volume considers the artistic and political environment of the time and investigates how a colorful subject is transformed by its translation into monochrome.