The Tower of Babel
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 6 3/8 x 8 11/16 in. (16.2 x 22.1 cm) Sheet: 6 1/2 x 8 7/8 in. (16.5 x 22.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Algernon S. Sullivan, 1919
Accession Number
19.56.90
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching of *The Tower of Babel* reproduces a celebrated composition by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, one of the most inventive artists of the Northern Renaissance. Created through the delicate lines of etching—a medium prized in the 16th and 17th centuries for its ability to capture intricate detail and allow wide distribution—the print shows the biblical tower rising dramatically amid a busy landscape of workers, scaffolding, and distant boats. The scene captures humanity’s ambitious attempt to reach the heavens, a story that resonated deeply in Bruegel’s era of exploration and religious uph...
About the Artist
Anton Joseph von Prenner|Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Austrian|Flemish) · 1683 |1577 –1761 |1640
Austrian, Wallerstein 1683–1761 Vienna|Flemish, Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp