Video: The Tower of Babel by Bruegel the Elder: Hidden Symbols and Political Satire Encrypted in the Biblical Plot
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Among all the works of world fine art, the painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder "The Tower of Babel" occupies a special place. Political satire, anti-Catholic position - the artist encrypted many symbols in the painting on popular biblical themes.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder created his famous painting in 1563. It is known that the artist painted at least one more picture on the same subject. True, it is much smaller in size, the first, and is written in a darker color scheme.
The artist based the picture on a biblical story about the origin of different languages and peoples. According to legend, after the Great Flood, the descendants of Noah settled on the land of Sennar. But they did not live in peace, and people decided to build a tower so high that it reached the heavens to God. The Almighty was against people considering themselves equal to Him, so he forced everyone to speak in different languages. As a result, no one could understand each other, from this the construction of the Tower of Babel was stopped.
The picture contains many small details. If you pay attention to the lower left corner, you can see a small group of people there. It is the approach of King Nimrod and his retinue, and the rest fall on their faces. According to legend, it was he who led the construction of the Tower of Babel.
Researchers believe that King Nimrod is the personification of the despot of King Charles V of the Habsburgs. Representatives of this dynasty ruled in Austria, Bohemia, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc. But after Charles V abdicated the crown, the whole empire slowly but surely began to disintegrate.
So it is with the tower. The artist himself has repeatedly emphasized that if the asymmetrical tilted Tower of Babel were built according to the mind and did not make mistakes, then the building would be completed, and not began to collapse.
Curiously, the shores in the picture are more reminiscent not of Mesopotamia, but of the artist's native Holland. The rapid urbanization of Antwerp has led to the fact that the city is flooded with people of different faiths. They were Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans and many others. They were no longer united by one faith. Many art critics interpret this approach as a mockery of the Catholic Church, which no longer controlled everyone around. In fact, the cities became the most real disunited "towers of Babel".
An equally breathtaking canvas The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. For over 500 years, this triptych has been controversial among art lovers around the world.
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