Brito, Bernardo de (1568–1617) Portuguese Cistercian
monk and historian, born at Almeida
His magnum opus on Portuguese history, Monarchia Lusi-
tania (two parts, 1597, 1609) begins with the creation of
Adam and includes more fabulous material than sober his-
torical data. Despite its shortcomings it was continued by
four other hands. His Primeira parte da Chronica de Cister
appeared in 1602.
Broeck(e), Willem van den See PALUDANUS, GUILIELMUS
Bronzino, Il (Agnolo Allori di Cosimo di Mariano)
(1503–1572) Italian painter
Born at Monticelli, near Florence, he was the pupil and
adopted son of PONTORMO, whom he assisted in a number
of works that included the decorations, now destroyed, in
the chapel of San Lorenzo, Florence. Bronzino’s first paint-
ings are in the early mannerist style of Pontormo but they
quickly developed away from the sensitivity of Pontormo
towards the cold, courtly, artificial, and technically superb
style of portraiture for which Bronzino is best known. As
court painter to COSIMO I DE’ MEDICI, he undertook por-
traits of the Medici and of eminent figures from the past
like BOCCACCIO, DANTE, and PETRARCH. The sitters ap-
peared stiff, elegant, and reserved, set apart from the rest
of humanity. Fine rich colors were used and, unlike most
portraits of the day, dark forms were set against a light
background. The development of European court portrai-
ture was strongly influenced by these works. Bronzino
also produced rather feelingless religious paintings, whose
grandeur of design reflects his study of Michelangelo, and
equally cold allegorical works such as Venus, Cupid, Folly,
and Time (1546; National Gallery, London). Mannerist fig-
ure elongation is evident in both these categories (see
MANNERISM). He also wrote poetry.
Further reading: Charles McCorquodale, Bronzino
(London: Jupiter Books, 1981).
Brownism A separatist movement within the Church of
England, out of which the Independent or Congregation-
alist churches developed. Robert Browne (c. 1550–1633)
maintained that local gathered churches should reform
their doctrines and practices without waiting for authority
from the civil power. He established congregations at Nor-
wich and elsewhere but on suffering harassment from the
Church authorities, he and some of his disciples moved
(1581) to Middelburg in the Netherlands. Browne soon re-
turned and submitted to the Anglican authorities in the
late 1580s; he was ordained in 1591 and from then until
his death held the living of Achurch, Northamptonshire.
In 1593 some of his principal followers were hanged.
Later many emigrated to America; others became the pre-
dominant element in Oliver Cromwell’s army.
Brueghel, Jan (“Velvet” Brueghel or Breughel) (1568–
1625) Netherlands painter
Born in Brussels, Jan lost his famous father, Pieter, when
he was only one year old. He received his initial training
from his grandmother, Maria Bessemers, a miniaturist. Be-
tween 1590 and 1595 he was in Naples, Rome, and Milan
under the patronage of Cardinal Federico Borromeo. In
1596 he returned to Antwerp where, a year later, he en-
tered the artists’ guild, of which he became dean (1602).
In 1604 he visited Prague and in 1606 Nuremberg. Ap-
pointed court artist to Archduke Albert of Austria at Brus-
sels in 1609, he also worked for Emperor RUDOLF IIand
King Sigismund of Poland. His collaborators included
RUBENS, Frans Francken II, Hans Rottenhammer, and Joos
de Momper; the Flemish flower painter Daniel Seghers
was his pupil. Breughel was famous for his brightly col-
ored historical subjects, filled with tiny figures, and for his
landscapes and flower paintings.Brueghel, Pieter (Pieter Bruegel or Breughel) (c. 1525–
1569) Netherlands painter and print designer
Brueghel was possibly born near Breda and apparently
trained in Brussels under Pieter COECKE VAN AELST, whose
daughter he married. After Coecke’s death, he visited
Rome (1552–53), where he became acquainted with the
miniaturist Giulio CLOVIO. From Rome he returned to
Antwerp, where he remained until 1563; he then moved
to Brussels, where he subsequently died.
As a young artist, Brueghel was principally a designer
of prints for the engraver and publisher Hieronymus Cock
in Antwerp. Such famous works as the Big Fish Eat Little
Fish, published in 1557, and the cycles of the Seven Deadly
Sins and the Seven Virtues reveal a perceptive study of the
paintings of Hieronymus BOSCH, whose work remained in-
ternationally famous decades after his death. The moraliz-
ing subject matter of Brueghel’s early designs for
engravings conditioned the outlook of much of his subse-
quent painting. For example, the Fall of Icarus (c. 1555;
Brussels) is essentially a condemnation of pride. In the
Berlin Netherlandish Proverbs (1559), sometimes misun-
derstood as a compendium of folk customs, mankind’s
foolishness is expressed through illustrations of popular
sayings. The Combat Between Carnival and Lent (also
1559; Vienna) is an ironic condemnation of the hypocrisy
of both Protestants and Catholics, which inclines only
slightly towards the latter, the artist’s own coreligionists.
An extremely important illustration of intellectual atti-
tudes towards the religious strife in the Netherlands on
the eve of the Dutch revolt, this painting reflects
Brueghel’s connections with the liberal humanistic circle
of the geographer Abraham ORTELIUS. References to the
uneasy political situation in the Netherlands have also
been divined in his Road to Calvary (1564; Vienna) and
his John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness (1566; Bu-
dapest). There is a resurgence of Bosch’s influence inBBrruueegghheell,, PPiieetteerr 7711