Peeling Back the Paint to Discover Bruegel’s Secrets

Nina Siegel | The New York Times | 23rd November 2018

The unprecedented Bruegel show in Vienna has been accompanied by new X-ray analysis of the paintings. They show numerous changes by the artist as well as by later hands. Were these merely his second thoughts about some details? Was he criticizing the government? Was he too macabre for later tastes?  “The question of what Bruegel is trying to convey is not resolved.”