(bapt. Deventer, 13 Nov. 1598; bur. Amsterdam, 5 Oct. 1657). Dutch painter, etcher, and draughtsman, with Poelenburgh the leading pioneer of the taste for Italianate landscapes in the Netherlands. Breenbergh spent about ten years in Italy (c.1619–c.1629) and thereafter lived in Amsterdam. His work as a painter is very similar to Poelenburgh's, featuring biblical and mythological characters set in well-balanced views of the Roman Campagna, often complete with classical ruins. His drawings are fresher and bolder, and have often passed under the name of Claude, as with two examples in Christ Church, Oxford. Late in his career Breenbergh painted a few portraits. See also Schildersbent.