Opening soon at Palazzo Reale is the first major exhibition in Milan dedicated to one of the most influential artistic dynasties of the European Renaissance: the Brueghels.
Through over eighty works – including paintings, drawings, and prints – the exhibition guides visitors on a journey to discover a family of painters who made a decisive contribution to the birth of future painting genres across the Netherlands, Italy, and the rest of Europe. From snowy landscapes to seascapes, from still lifes to genre scenes and battle paintings, this system of genres has ultimately shaped modern European painting as we know it today.
This fascinating exhibition documents a pivotal moment in art history, showing how the Brueghels – through their innovations and unique production and distribution strategies tailored for a growing market – played a key role in establishing this new pictorial system during the 17th century, a period of significant cultural, social, and economic change.
From a cultural perspective, the rise of art literature initiated a process of defining schools, styles, and types of representation, codifying the “canons” that still guide us today in evaluating and understanding an artwork within specific genres. On the economic front, the expansion of the art market – no longer restricted to religious and aristocratic commissions, but increasingly open, especially in the Netherlands, to a bourgeois public – fostered a progressive specialization in artistic production. Painters began targeting precise market niches, dedicating themselves to specific subjects highly sought after by a broader audience.
Promoted by the Municipality of Milano – Cultura and produced by Palazzo Reale, 24 ORE Cultura – Gruppo Il Sole 24 ORE, the exhibition “The Brueghels: The Origins of Painting Genres in Europe” is a project conceived by Bernard Aikema and curated by Carlotta Striolo.
THE BRUEGHELS.The Origins of Painting Genres in Europe
Guided Tour (75 min)
The exhibition explores the role of the Brueghel dynasty in shaping and spreading the major European painting genres between the 16th and 17th centuries, through an exhibition that brings together paintings, drawings, and prints from major international collections. The guided tour helps visitors understand the visual language developed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his descendants—including scenes of peasant life, landscapes, still lifes, and allegories—highlighting the development and extraordinary success of the so-called “Brueghel brand.” This exhibition allows visitors to trace the evolution of these painting genres within the cultural and economic context of the 17th century—a period marked by the growth of the art market and the progressive specialization of workshops, which contributed to the spread of shared visual models throughout Europe.
This activity is designed for students of all school levels and for groups of adults of all ages (max. 25 people)
Cost of guided tour for schools: €90 in Italian – €110 in a foreign language Cost of guided tour for universities/adults: €110 in Italian – €130 in a foreign language
A grain of sand, a farmer in the distance, a little bird among the branches: in Brueghel’s universe, no detail is ever truly secondary, and nature is not merely a backdrop but a living ecosystem of which we are a part. This activity guides children in exploring the grand Flemish landscapes through the movement of the gaze: from the macro to the micro. Equipped with magnifying glasses, the young visitors become art detectives, searching for the tiny details hidden in the paintings and discovering that every little story contributes to creating a grand representation of the world. In the workshop, the visual experience becomes a shared ecosystem: on a long roll of paper, each child will glue an element they have drawn (an animal, a tree, a human figure), experiencing firsthand how every single gesture can transform and enrich everyone’s landscape. This activity is designed to stimulate careful observation, imagination, and the development of common sense.
Cost of guided tour + workshop: €130 in Italian – €150 in a foreign language
Society is a vast theater made up of encounters, celebrations, and conflicts. Standing before Brueghel’s grand ensemble scenes, the class is divided into small groups and engaged in a challenge to visually decode and map human relationships. Using special “Character Cards,” students will discover and analyze individual figures hidden in the crowd, reconstructing their stories and connections to understand how a community is structured. In the workshop, the Flemish 16th century meets the 21st century, starting with the question: “If the Brueghels were to paint the choreography of our society today, what actions would they depict in place of fairs and peasant dances?” the students will design graphic modules to represent the micro-gestures of their daily lives (sports, smartphones, studying, verbal conflict), then combine them into a single, large social hive that illustrates the importance of relationships and interdependence.
Cost of guided tour + workshop: €130 in Italian – €150 in a foreign language
FROM PROVERBS TO MEMES: Brueghel and Popular Culture
Guided Tour + Workshop (120’)
Did you know that in the 16th century, Flemish proverbs functioned exactly like modern memes? They were popular, irreverent, and viral images that spread rapidly and captured the paradoxes of society. This course analyzes the visual structure and irony of Brueghel’s works to stimulate students’ critical thinking. In the workshop, the students will transform into a team of History Content Creators: starting with major issues of today (social media anxiety, fake news, consumerism, loneliness), they’ll invent a contemporary proverb and reimagine it in the grotesque style of the Flemish master. If the Brueghels had had a smartphone, how would they have depicted our world?
Cost of guided tour + workshop: €130 in Italian – €150 in a foreign language
THE BRUEGHEL GENERATION.Viral Spread, Copies, and Mass Dissemination in the 16th Century
Class on Display (90 min)
What defines a work of art as an original? This guided tour challenges traditional norms to explore hot-button issues in the economics of culture and the sociology of media, analyzing the Brueghel workshop as a full-fledged visual franchise. By studying the production chain of the era—from the master’s original creation to large-scale engravings and painted replicas—students will gain an understanding of the early mechanisms of mass dissemination. The tour concludes with a discussion led by the instructor, who will compare the 16th-century workshop system with the dynamics of contemporary digital virality—including digital creators, reposts, and online trends.
If you are a teacher and would like to explore a different topic in greater depth, we can arrange a customized program: the proposed focus is a suggestion based on the exhibition’s content.
Cost of a class at the exhibition: 130€ in Italian – 150€ in a foreign language
THE GREAT DANCE OF THE WORLD.Festivals, Rituals, and Games in Brueghel’s Paintings
Sunday, 3:30 p.m. Guided tour + dance workshop (90 minutes)
Have you ever dreamed of traveling back in time and stepping into an ancient festival? In Brueghel’s masterpieces, daily life, work, and play merge into a single collective choreography. “The Hunt for Gestures” is the first part of the journey: each family receives special character cards to spot musicians, dancers, food lovers, and acrobats among the scenes, learning to decode the secrets of body language in art. In the second part, the workshop focuses on creating a performance, developed with the help of Eleonora Sarcina (DAMS, trained in classical, modern, and contemporary dance) and Glauko Brabagallo (Musical Academy Milano, Scuola Dedalo Teatro, and CSC Milano Acting). Participants of all ages will choose a textile element—such as large circular skirts, aprons, or linen and cotton cloths in earthy tones—which will become an extension of their own bodies. Through simple gestures and movements, we’ll explore how fabrics transform: how they open up during a celebration, gather during work, or stretch out during an encounter. Everyone’s movements will intertwine in a fun group dance inspired by grand folk festivals, concluding with a reflection: Which gesture from your daily life would you include today in a Brueghel painting?
Cost of guided tour + dance workshop*: €23 for adults* + €20 for children *Fees not included
Have you ever imagined stepping into a painting and moving through its stories? In Brueghel’s masterpieces, everyday life becomes a vast tapestry of actions, encounters, and little stories. During the tour, each family will receive special character cards to participate in the “Gesture Hunt”: a guided exploration of the artworks in search of different figures—musicians, dancers, children at play, scenes of work in the fields, moments of celebration and togetherness. By following the clues and observing carefully, both adults and children will be invited to discover how the body, postures, and details shape the meaning of the images. The tour will conclude with a final imaginative activity: choosing a gesture that represents their own family today and trying to place it, in their imagination, within one of the paintings they’ve observed. It’s a way to discover how, throughout the centuries, everyday gestures continue to tell stories that still resonate with us today.
Cost of guided tour + workshop*: €23 per adult* + €20 per child *Fees not included
Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Guided tour + workshop (90 min)
Can we use the art of the past to interpret our present? This exhibition transforms Brueghel’s masterpieces into a map of the human condition: exploring collective energy, conflicts, relationships, and the search for balance. We’ll delve into grand festive scenes and everyday life, where the crowd becomes a living organism made up of gestures, interactions, and tensions. Through these works, we’ll observe how collective fears, desires, and behaviors create dynamics that continue to speak to us even today. Through the Virtues, we will discover how clarity, moderation, and care are not abstract concepts, but concrete tools for navigating the complexities of life. Reflection then turns into action. No drawing skills are required; the workshop will allow you to create your own Atlas of Virtues: a personal tool made up of symbols, words, and connections to interpret the present, recognize your own resources, and build a compass for the future.
Cost of guided tour + workshop*: €25 per adult* *Excluding fees
SOCIAL MONSTERS. Brueghel and the Imagery of Chaos
Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Themed guided tour (75′)
An evening dedicated to exploring the most mysterious, fascinating, and visionary aspects of the exhibition. This special thematic tour takes visitors through the section dedicated to Chaos, stripped of the moralistic judgment of the 16th (Sixteenth) century and capable of reflecting current collective anxieties. The famous demons of Jan Brueghel the Elder—composed of absurd hybrids and obsessions—will engage in an open dialogue with the problems of the 21st (twenty-first) century. An itinerary rich in connections, perfect for reflecting on the past and questioning our present.
The guided tour offers a general overview of the exhibition, with aspecificthematic focuschosen as a framework for exploring certain key aspects of the exhibition.
Cost of the thematic guided tour*: €23 for adults* *Fees not included
THE ATLAS OF VIRTUES : The Architecture of Choices and Relationships Within a Team
Guided Tour + Workshop (120’)
How does a team respond to challenges and change? This program offers a team-building experience that uses Brueghel’s masterpieces as a magnifying glass to map group dynamics: from managing moments of crisis to harnessing the team’s collective potential. During the guided tour, the painted scenes of chaos, celebration, and order become visual metaphors for analyzing three pillars of business: the ability to navigate change, the management of group dynamics, and the activation of key operational virtues such as clarity, moderation, and care—understood as tools for collaboration and decision-making. In the workshop, theory gives way to collaborative action. Divided into small teams (4–6 people), participants tackle a real-world business challenge through four key steps: first, they isolate the problem using guiding statements (“Today we struggle when…”), then they translate it together into a shared graphic representation, and in the third phase, they select and cut out three “seed words” (e.g., clarity, courage, trust) from the manual to place them on the graphic and visualize the coordinated solution to the crisis. Combining all the maps into a single, comprehensive final atlas will provide the company with renewed synergy and potential strategies for the future.
Rates
All ticket types include an audio guide
SINGLE ADULT TICKET € 15.00
REDUCED SINGLE ADMISSION €13 .00 Visitors aged 6 to 26, visitors over 65, Touring Club members with a membership card, FAI members with a membership card, ticket holders participating in the “Museum Mondays” initiative (Poldi Pezzoli Museum and La Scala Theater Museum), military personnel, off-duty law enforcement officers, teachers, and Coop Lombardia members and employees upon presentation of their membership card and/or company ID badge.
REDUCED SINGLE ADMISSION WITH THE MILAN MUSEUM CARD: €12 .00 Holders of the Milan Civic Museums Card
REDUCED ENTRY FOR NON-100% DISABLED PEOPLE €10.00 Disabled people with a disability of less than 100%
SINGLE REDUCED-PRICE TICKET WITH THE LOMBARDY MUSEUM CARD €10 .00 Holders of the Lombardy Museum Card Milan Subscription
ORTICOLA REDUCED SINGLE-ENTRY TICKET: €10 .00 Orticola members with a valid membership card for the current year
REDUCED ADMISSION FOR STUDENTS: €10 .00 Students ages 6 to 25
REDUCED-PRICE FRECCIAROSSA TICKET €7 .50 50% discount for holders of Frecce tickets (Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca)—in digital or paper format—with Milan as the destination and a travel date falling within the two (2) days preceding the date of admission to the exhibition.
SPECIAL REDUCED SINGLE ENTRY TICKET €6.00 Employees of the City of Milan with a name badge (only one accompanying guest, if any, pays the reduced rate of €12.00), National Civil Service volunteers, journalists with an ODG press card bearing the current year’s stamp who are not accredited (only one accompanying guest, if any, pays the general reduced rate)
SINGLE REDUCED ENTRY AGREEMENTS €9.00 Gruppo 24 Ore employees with a personal badge (3 accompanying adults for €9.00)
SPECIAL FAMILY DISCOUNTED ADMISSION €10.00 per adult (1 or 2 adults) €6.00 for children ages 6 to 14
FREE ADMISSION Children under 6 years of age, individuals with a 100% disability, one companion per person with a disability who requires assistance, journalists with an ODG press card on assignment (subject to accreditation—the press will not be accredited on Saturdays, Sundays, and on holidays), one companion and one guide for each Touring Club and FAI group, ICOM members, tour guides with a valid license or certification card, employees of the Milan Superintendence for Landscape and Architectural Heritage, employees of the Exhibitions and Scientific Museums Department of Palazzo Reale with a personalized ID card, members of the security committee and firefighters with a personalized ID card, and holders of complimentary coupons.
OPEN ADMISSION ( Valid through January 24, 2027) €17.00 + €2.00 Full Price €12.00 + €2.00 Reduced Price for Employees (24 HOURS) €10.00 + €2.00 Reduced Price (Social Media Promo) €8.00 + €2.00 Reduced Price (Early Bird)
GROUP ADMISSION €13 .00 Reduced rate for organized groups of at least 15 and up to 25 people, including the guide. One chaperone per group enters free of charge. A microphone system is required and included in the price.
ADMISSION FOR TOURING CLUB OR FAI GROUPS: €6 .00 Groups organized directly by the Touring Club and the FAI. One tour leader and one guide per group are admitted free of charge. A microphone system is required and included in the price (advance ticket sales do not apply).
SCHOOL ADMISSION €6 .00 Student groups of all levels. Admission is free for 2 chaperones per school group. A microphone system is required and included in the price.
PRE-SALE €2.00 for individuals and groups €1.00 for schools
