Tower of Babel (Bruegel)
The Tower of Babel is the title of several paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder . It depicts the undertaking of the people, described in the First Book of Moses ( Gen 11: 1-9 EU ), to build a tower, "the top of which extends to heaven" (see Tower of Babel ). Bruegel painted at least two versions of this subject.
Viennese version
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| Tower of Babel (Viennese version) |
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| Pieter Bruegel the Elder , 1563 |
| Oil on oak |
| 114 × 155 cm |
| Art History Museum |
The best-known of the two versions, the so-called “Great Tower”, was built in 1563 and is on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
presentation
Bruegel chose a method of representation that is typical for this Bible story in European art history . It shows the enormous size of the building, the labor required and the construction technology used.
Bruegel's visit to Rome in 1553 apparently influenced his depiction by the Colosseum . The upstream columns, the horizontal structure of the building, the double arcade position of the walkways and the two-storey wall structure suggest that he found his model for the Tower of Babel in this Roman building. Seven floors have already been built, the eighth floor is under construction. On the ramp that is moving the building there are construction huts , cranes , lifts with step wheels, as they were used during Bruegel's lifetime, as well as ladders and scaffolding .
The landscape surrounding the building is obviously shaped by the Flemish landscape . The sea and the mountains can be seen in the distance. The walled city, reminiscent of Antwerp , is behind the tower. Your port is full of ships.
Most of the people depicted in the painting are tiny. It is mainly craftsmen and stonemasons who are busy building the structure. The builder, King Nimrod and his retinue is much larger than this . The kowtowing that the stonecutters perform before him indicates the oriental roots of the story.
interpretation
The painting is a reference to the transience of everything earthly and the futility of all human endeavors to imitate God as Creator. The construction seems to be successful, but it leans slightly towards the city. There is little to suggest that this structure will last. Failure is already being announced.
Rotterdam version
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| Tower of Babel (small or Rotterdam version) |
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| Pieter Bruegel the Elder , 1563 |
| Oil on oak |
| 60 × 74.5 cm |
| Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum |
The version that can be seen in the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam , the so-called “Little Tower”, also dates from 1563 .
The painting chooses a larger scale than the Viennese version, the people depicted can hardly be recognized. In its basic mood, the color scheme and weather conditions make it more threatening.
While the accusation of hubris in the Viennese picture hits the worldly power in the form of King Nimrod, the Rotterdam version is directed against the Roman Catholic Church : Almost exactly in the geometric center of the painting there is a procession with a red canopy, the up the turns of the building.
Other versions
Other versions of the painting may have existed that have not survived today. For example, in a guarantee list from Antwerp merchant Niclaes Jonghelinck from 1565, a Bruegel picture with the title “Tower of Babel” is mentioned without this being identified as one of the two named. Another rather small-format version (75.5 cm × 105 cm, oil on oak) is in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister zu Dresden, but this is by the painter Marten van Valckenborch (1535–1612).
Later acquisitions
Due to the special similarity, it can be assumed that the design of Minas Tirith in the film Lord of the Rings goes back to an inspiration from this painting.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bauwelt 2008 35. (PDF; 519 kB) Projection surface for evil. The Myth of Babylon and the Archaeological Facts. bauwelt.de, September 12, 2008, accessed on December 3, 2018 .
Old peasant woman | The Adoration of the Magi (Bruegel, 1564) | The Adoration of the Magi (Bruegel, around 1556) | The Adoration of the Magi in the Snow | The country wedding | The peasant dance | The conversion of Paul | The Bethlehemite Child Murder | The fall of the blind | Christ and the Apostles at the Sea of Galilee | Christ and the adulteress | The three soldiers | The gloomy day | The magpie on the gallows | River landscape with a sower | The yawn (?) | Great Tower of Babel | The port of Naples | The return of the flock | The haymaking | The wedding dance | The hunters in the snow | The battle between carnival and fasting | The children's games | Little Tower of Babel | The grain harvest | Christ Carrying the Cross | The cripples | Landscape with the Flight into Egypt | Landscape with the fall of Icarus (?) | Seascape with a burning city (?) | The misanthrope | The nest ejector | The Dutch proverbs | The sermon of John the Baptist | The land of milk and honey | Saul's suicide | The fall of the rebelling angels | Death of the virgin | The great Grete | The triumph of death | The Bethlehem Census | The wine for the feast of St. Martin | Winter landscape with ice skaters and bird trap | Two monkeys | Twelve Proverbs (?)
(?) Attribution controversial | Formerly attributed to Bruegel