Monsters—not from nightmares
Drew monsters—not from nightmares, but from the strange space between reality and imagination.
I’ve done a handful of small tattoos inspired by Bruegel’s work. If you know his art, you know it’s full of twisted, contorted figures—impossible bodies, grotesque faces, limbs that don’t quite fit. At first, they just seem like strange little details, but the more you look, the more you realize he’s exploring something deeper about human nature.
Bruegel had a sharp eye on society, layering humor and satire over the absurdity of human behavior. His monsters and folklore figures helped him explore fear, greed, and the grotesque side of life.
That layered strangeness is what drew me in. Back in the early days when I was just starting out, I wasn’t tattooing with the same level of skill or sophistication that I have now. It’s interesting for me to look back and see how much I’ve grown. One of the pieces I did was inspired by a black-and-white Bruegel drawing: a figure leading a group into a boat. When I tattooed it, I imagined that figure in red, giving it a devilish intensity—part guide, part warning. It’s a piece that reminds me of those early days and how far I’ve come.
notattoo_berlin
“Pieter Bruegel the Elder” – tattoo detail for @afonso_serro_official
@flourishandblotts.studio • LisbonExplore more of Bruegel’s work:
https://www.wikiart.org/en/pieter-bruegel-the-elder
Bruegel’s complete works at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna:
https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/?artist=Bruegel,%20Pieter%20der%20%C3%84ltereThe Bruegel family and their artistic legacy (Metropolitan Museum of Art):
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/brue/hd_brue.htmInteractive exploration of The Tower of Babel (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen):
https://collectie.boijmans.nl/en/object/287586The World of Bruegel in Black and White – full print collection (Royal Library of Belgium):
https://belgica.kbr.be/bruegel/