The Wedding Cortège

Attributed to Jan Brueghel the Elder
(Brussels 1568 - Antwerp 1628)

There are currently about fifteen known paintings which depict the same scene.  These were produced by different painters and, until recently, all were considered to be copies of a lost work by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Experts all agree that the painting conserved at the Museum of the City of Brussels is, without doubt, the best version that exists. It is particularly well painted. Some even go so far as to attribute the work to Pieter Bruegel the Elder.Recent research, relating, in particular to the underlying drawing, appears to indicate that it is an original work (and not a copy), and it is now increasingly certain that it can be attributed to Jan Breughel the Elder.

The painting's attractiveness is partly due to the opposition between the painter's refined, but, nevertheless, powerful technique and his decision to depict a mainstream scene from everyday life.