Paintings of religious subject-matter

For centuries past, churches and monasteries had been among the most important clients commissioning art. The Reformation put an end to this tradition, the Protestants considering the rich pictorial ornamentation of Catholic buildings to be symptoms of secularisation, or even of a forbidden display of magnificence and power.

Although Bruegel worked with others on an altar in 1550/51, as far as can be ascertained, not one of his paintings was executed for a church. One reason for this may be seen in the political and religious situation at the time, Lutheran and Reformed Church communities being uninterested in such works and Catholics holding back - in those cases where they had actually been able to keep their buildings. Another reason was Bruegel's style, which was such as to exclude him from consideration by Catholics. His works did not correspond to Catholic requirements to portray saints in a way which emphasized their sainthood and clearly distinguished them from other mortals.