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Family of Jan Brueghel the Elder

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spacer The Family of Jan Brueghel the Elder

Meet the Brueghel family: Jan, Catharina, Elisabeth and Pieter.
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spacer What kind of people were the Brueghels?

Find out what type of lifestyle the Brueghels would have had.
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spacer A 'Public' Image

Find out how the portrait presents a 'public' image of the family.
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spacer Public Image, Private Lives

Explore how the portrait also contains references to a more private side of family life.
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spacer Personality Captured

How has Rubens captured the individual personalities of the Brueghel family?
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spacer How long did they have to sit for?

Find out how Rubens went about making the portrait.
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spacer What are they wearing?

The family is decked out in their Sunday best.
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spacer Catharina's dress

Find out about the individual garments that make up Catharina's dress.
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spacer Catharina's jewellery

Where else might you find a bracelet like that?
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spacer The Ruffs Revealed

How on earth do the ruffs and collars stand up like that?
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spacer Bringing the family to life

Explore how the brushwork creates a sense of real physical presence.
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spacer Rubens' own family portrait

And for something completely different...
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