The name Brueghel is very popular among puzzle enthusiasts. There are four main painters with this name and they all belong to the same family line: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Elder, and Jan Brueghel the Younger. Very often, the jigsaw manufacturer just includes the name Brueghel as the artist and nothing else. Then, there is no way to know who the real author of the painting is. In the case of this puzzle, the only information in the box is Brueghel, but we have to complete the research and find out that the real title of the painting is Landing Place, and the artist is Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Other versions of Landing Place
There are two larger versions of this puzzle. MB manufactured a 3000 pieces version in 1981. However, the title in the box is The Cove, which is, in fact, a small sheltered bay, like the one that appears in the painting. I don’t know what source did MB use to come up with that title. The fact is that there are virtually no references online to The Cove. Two years after the version by MB, Ravensburger published another 3000 pieces version, in 1983. This time, the title was Landing Place, which is the one I have used for this puzzle.
The interesting thing about this 1000 pieces version by Flamenco is the fact that the image appears flipped horizontally. The original has the landing water to the left. It seems that Jan Brueghel the Elder was particularly interested in this subject. There are different works with the title River Landscape with Landing Stage, or similar titles, and they are almost indistinguishable. There is even a 1500 pieces jigsaw puzzle by Falcon with the title River Landscape with a Village and a Landing.
Although this puzzle is probably more than 40 years old, the pieces have some really good quality and they have resisted the passing of time very well, despite the fact that they are thinner than most current puzzles. However, the experience was very positive with this my very first Flamenco puzzle. I hope the new owner will share my experience.
1000, Flamenco, Landing Place, by Jan Brueghel the Elder, 49 x 69 cm, Reference number 1000/1142.
