A scion of the famous Brueghel family of painters, he trained in Antwerp with his father and later worked for some time in Paris.

[3] His father was the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder, who was one of the most important creative forces in early 17th century Antwerp, a prolific painter in many genres and a frequent collaborator of Rubens.

Here he lived with his uncle Jan Valdor, the husband of his mother's sister Catherine Janssens.

He is believed to be the painter of the Fall of Phaethon signed 'P Breughel' (Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe).

A still life of Pike, Barbel and other Fish in a Bowl, Celery, Radishes, Pumpkins, Melons and a Basket of Fruit by a Stone Wall (McMaster Museum of Art) signed 'PHILVPS BREVGHEL' shows a more original approach than that of his painting brothers, who had mainly remained flower painters.