Research Paper On The Tower Of Babel

Before the time of movies, TV shows, or even live plays paintings were a type of entertainment. How can a painting be entertainment? That is what comes to mind when we hear people say that. The Tower of Babel is a prime example of a painting that is entertaining. The Tower of Babel was painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1563. It was painted during the Renaissance period. It now hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. Pieter Bruegel was commonly known as Pieter Bruegel the Elder. He was born in 1525 in Breda into a very large Netherlandish family full of artists. He spent most of his life in Antwerp which is a major city in the Netherlands. He was an apprentice to Coecke van Aelst, who was a very popular artist, sculptor, architect, and designer of tapestry and stained glass in the city of Antwerp. In 1551, Bruegel went to Italy and completed multiple paintings while he was there. Most of the paintings were landscapes. He returned back to Antwerp in 1553. Ten years after that he moved from Antwerp to Brussels. He married the daughter of Coecke van Aelst in 1563. Her name was Mayken. Most of his artwork after that depicted the life of peasents. He …show more content…
The exact year he did is not known. He actually painted three different paintings of the tower of babel but one was lost and the other one is known as The Little Tower of Babel. The Little Tower of Babel is in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He most likely painted the piece in Vienna first then he painted the one in Rotterdam. He interpreted the story very well with this painting. When you look at the painting it captures your eyes and makes you want to look for hours. There is so much detail and so many things going on in it, it is truly amazing. It is believed that he got a lot of his inspiration from the Roman Colosseum as stated in this quote, “The Tower is Babylonian in meaning, but Roman in design” (Visual Arts