Pieter van der Heyden

He made engravings after the paintings of famous Flemish painters of the previous generation as well as contemporary artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Frans Floris and Lambert Lombard.

He also worked after the original designs made by contemporary artists such as Pieter Bruegel and Hans Bol for the publishing projects of Hieronymus Cock.

Bruegel had revived the medieval tradition of depicting the four seasons with his monumental series of the months painted in 1565.

Although van der Heyden was not an inventive engraver and his figures are considered to be stiff and angular, Bruegel seems to have preferred working with the artist because of his highly skilled technique and his fidelity to the design he was copying.

[4] Pieter van der Heyden marked his prints often with PME, the initials of his Latinized name, Peter Mercinus.