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.

Location: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Saal X

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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