Restoration of painting by Peter Bruegel the Elder reveals colour and discoveries

Peter Bruegel the Elder’s Dulle Griet (Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp) has regained its spectacular original appearance with the rediscovery during restoration of a blue-green sky. Experts at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels have worked for a year and a half on the treatment of the world-famous painting. Bruegel’s refined brushwork and a number of striking details lay hidden for decades under layers of overpainting and yellowed varnish. The original wealth of colour is now visible again and the work looks remarkably fresh. The painter’s artistic qualities are done full justice once more. The regained brightness offers a renewed sense of depth: the figure of ‘Dulle Griet’ (Mad Meg) is foregrounded much more firmly and stands out against the sweeping landscape in the background. The multidisciplinary research carried out by the KIK-IRPA team has also resulted i