Although Bruegel was famous in his own lifetime, the archaic appearance of much of his imagery and his disinclination to adopt the idealized style of portraiture developed by the Italian Renaissance artists had, at least in sophisticated circles, an adverse effect on his reputation both during his lifetime and after his death. Since his works did not conform to the aesthetic theories of the time, the early art historians were inclined to disregard him and indeed there appears to have been little serious academic study of his work until the 20th century. Furthermore there are no extant records of his thoughts on art and no letters by his hand survive. The result is therefore an absence of significant detail concerning much of his life.