Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Tower of Babel, 1563, oil on panel, 114 × 155 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). In the Google Art Project: www.googleartpr.... Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker make my art history class worth it, honestly. This class is so boring but every time we have to watch one of these videos I get super excited
These art videos are so fascinating. Books are good but these videos really bring to life the great drama of the creation of great artwork through the centuries.
The king in the foreground is Nimrod. Brueghel is known to have painted two other versions, both smaller than the Vienna picture. One was on ivory. The other is in Rotterdam and does not include the king's visit or the town, but the tower is even higher.
There are two Towers of Babel made by Bruegel. Both are masterpieces beyond perfect ... this one is more famous, bigger, contains more color nuances, more elements etc.. But another one, the Small Tower of Babel has an interesting feature - this is the ultimate proof that "miniature" isn't always about size, it's sometimes about technique. Detalization is completely insane in this painting, which has size 24 x 29.3 in. You can see it on Google Museum. It's a kind of handmade watch detalization.
"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel...." Genesis 10:8-12 The king being depicted in this painting is Nimrod.
God definitely has a way of setting us straight. I just got checked in today's sermon and I feel wonderfully about it. It's the most interesting mix of firm but loving correction. I wish I could do some "close, prolonged looking" at this piece, reflecting on the implications. I would've imagined the Tower of Babel looking differently to this... but in a way, it makes sense that here would be this conical shape rather than the tube-like shape I've always envisioned. I loved the powerful irony of bowing to this king of nothingness. I've done quite a bit of that throughout my life. Ready to be more selective in that regard. The detailed views of this piece are incredible... If I'm ever in Vienna, I'll be looking for it.
I fully agree with you, only I doubt that he was a Roman Catholic in his mind. Perhaps outwardly for the form, but there are sources that say he was a member of the 'House of Love' ... He was rather a geus or a covert Protestant.
Is the lion roaring and facing to our right? If so, I kind of see the lion. I'm having trouble seeing the man. Is the man sitting tall and facing to our left?
@@1adebarde Hi...how are you..today? Thxs for u comment...😊 Prise the Lord is Obey all that God of Jesus said,love others,and forgive those who are guilty of us.. And how about you " Prise".... Gbu
Genesis 11: 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now NOTHING will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
I have a 30.000x30.000 image of this painting. Incredible. I've never seen it in person, because I don't have the money necessary to go to Europe. But, have you seen it in «ZoomViewer»? You can see each piece of the painting in «Wikimedia Commons», and further explore it in «ZoomViewer». It's a tool capable of zooming incredibly close to a image, without loosing any detail.
