Amazing medieval figures: Bruegelburg

This new range of medieval/fantasy figuresfrom Lead Adventure has caught my eye.  While I’m not into wargaming the medieval period at all, the 16th century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel is one of my favourite artists.  These miniatures are obviously based on his painting style, which Wikipedia describes as:

… genre paintings populated by peasants, often with a large landscape element … Making the life and manners of peasants the main focus of a work was rare in painting in Brueghel’s time, and he was a pioneer of the Netherlandish genre painting. His earthy, unsentimental but vivid depiction of the rituals of village life—including agriculture, hunts, meals, festivals, dances, and games—are unique windows on a vanished folk culture …

The new Lead Adventures figures definitely reflect Breugel’s style, though whether all of them are exact copies of characters found in his paintings, I’m not sure.   

The first releases in this new range include diggers, a knight with his henchman, an archivist, a merchant, some tavern guests, a peasant woman, a musician, beggars, a character called Mad Griet, and even some quaint road signs.

The Mad Griet figure (or, in English, ‘Mad Meg’) is based on a very famous painting by Bruegel. 

The range also includes two figures who  are copies from another painting, though not by Bruegel, but instead by Jan van Eyck.  His 1434 portrait of the Italian merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges, has been converted into a charming pair of figures (though the couple appear to have aged a little!).

What a terrific idea to base a series of figures on characters in famous paintings.  Maybe there is some potential for this approach in other periods as well?

For more information, visit the Lead Adventures website.