Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Tower of Babel

• Title: The Tower of Babel
• Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1527-1569)
• Date: 1563
• Medium: Oil on oak panel
• Dimensions: 114 x 155 cm

"The Tower of Babel" depicts the construction of a tower which, according to the Genesis in the Bible, was built for "the top to reach heaven", by a monolingual humanity as a mark of their achievement. Its eventual destruction is meant to have been an act of God to punish the immodesty of humankind.

The architecture of the tower with its numerous arches is reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum (built from 69 to 80 by emperors Vespasian and Titus), which Flemish Christians saw as a symbol of both pride because of how gigantic it was and persecution because it was said to have been the stage of the martyrdom of many Christians. Note that the tower looks sturdy but because it is slanted it cannot withstand the test of time.

The parallel with Rome had a particular significance- Rome was the Eternal City and its ruin was taken to symbolize the vanity and transience of earthly efforts. The Tower was also symbolic of the religious turmoil between the Latin-speaking Catholic Church and the polyglot Protestant religion that was increasingly popular in the Netherlands.