The Brueghel family (/ˈbrɔɪɡəl/, also US: /ˈbruːɡəl/; Dutch: [ˈbrøːɣəl] ), also spelled Bruegel or Breughel, is an extended family of Flemish painters which played a major role in the development of the art in Flanders throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Due to the organisation in guilds and training being done with established painters and not in schools or academies, painters often passed on the knowledge from father to son (or, much more rarely, daughter), and there are many examples of Flemish painting families spanning two or more generations, e.g. the Francken family, which had at least ten painters spanning four generations. The Brueghel family produced the largest number of major painters of all Flemish families.