The Tower of Babel
1563, Artist: Pieter Bruegel d. Ä.
The Tower of Babel
Bruegel’s monumental composition became the most famous, most often copied and varied classic depiction of the tower. Perspective is provided by the seemingly Flemish port which seems tiny in comparison with the tower. Painstakingly, and in encyclopaedic detail, Bruegel depicts countless technical and craftsmanship processes. He blends elements from antique and Romanesque architecture in the stone structure around the building’s exterior.
Object data
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Netherlandish
Dated
1563
Artist
Pieter Bruegel d. Ä. (um 1525/30 Breugel oder Antwerpen? - 1569 Brüssel) - GND
Material
oak wood
Dimensions
Overall: 114,4 cm × 155,5 cm × 3,8 cm
Framed: 135 cm × 176 cm × 6,5 cm
Signed
Designated at the bottom of a cuboid: BRVEGEL. FE. M.CCCCC.LXIII
Image rights
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie
Inv. No.
Gemäldegalerie, 1026
Provenance
1566 Nicolaas Jongelinck; probably passed into the possession of the city of Antwerp in 1566; Rudolf II; Coll. Leopold Wilhelm
100 Meisterwerke - Turmbau zu Babel - Pieter Bruegel, d.A.
Permalink (citable Link) to this page: www.khm.at/en/object/323/
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