Background
Paul Bril was born in 1554 in Antwerp, Belgium, although his birthplace may have been Breda, Netherlands. He was the son of the painter Matthijs Bril the Elder. Paul had an older brother Matthijs Bril the Younger.
Paul Bril was born in 1554 in Antwerp, Belgium, although his birthplace may have been Breda, Netherlands. He was the son of the painter Matthijs Bril the Elder. Paul had an older brother Matthijs Bril the Younger.
Paul and his older brother Matthijs likely started their artistic training with their father in Antwerp. Paul may also have been a student of the Antwerp painter Damiaen Wortelmans who was specialised in the decoration of harpsichords.
Matthijs moved to Rome probably around 1575. There he worked on several frescoes in the Vatican Palace. It is believed Paul joined his brother in Rome around or after 1582.
When his brother died in 1583, Paul likely continued his work, picking up many of brother's commissions. Paul's earliest known works date from the late 1580s. He established his reputation with commissions from Pope Gregorius XIII in the Collegio Romano. His success was assured after Pope Sixtus V became his principal patron. Bril was part of a team specialized in landscape painting and thus participated in almost every assignment which entailed decorative landscapes, such as in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Vatican Palace and the Scala Santa. Another important early commission was the fresco cycle in the Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome of around 1599.
Pope Clement VIII also became his patron and gave the artist a commission for a monumental seascape on the Martyrdom of St. Clement. Paul Bril completed this commission in the Vatican Palace’s Sala Clementina in collaboration with the brothers Giovanni and Cherubino Alberti (1600-1602/1603). In 1601 Paul received another major commission, to paint a series of large canvases featuring properties of the Mattei family. Paul further painted landscape frescoes in the Casino dell'Aurora of the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome.
In 1621, Paul Bril became director of the Academy of Saint Luke, the artists' academy in Rome. He was the first foreigner to hold this position. He had many students including his son Cyriacus Bril, Luigi Carboni, Balthasar Lauwers, Willem van Nieulandt II and others.
Paul Bril died in Rome on October 7, 1626 in Rome, Italy.
A wooded landscape with a bridge and sportsmen at the edge of the river
Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee
Römische Ruinenlandschaft
An Extensive Landscape
Landscape with St. Jerome and rocky crag
Landscape with Stag Hunt
Landscape with a Hunting Party and Roman Ruins
Landschaft mit Sibyllentempel
Fantastic mountain landscape
Landscape with a Marsh
Landscape
The Campo Vaccino with a Gypsy Woman Reading a Palm
The Stag Hunt
Mountain Scene
A Forest Pool
The Port
View of a Port
Landscape with Roman Ruins
Self-Portrait
Ruins and Figures
Landscape with Nymphs and Satyrs
Diana and Her nymphs at the Hunt
Coastal Landscape
Landscape with Boats on a River
Landscape with Mercury and Argus
Landscape
View of Bracciano
In 1621, Paul Bril became director of the Academy of Saint Luke, an association of artists in Rome.
Bril had a son Cyriacus Bril who was a painter.