Picture of construction of the Babylonian tower. Babylonian tower

Picture of construction of the Babylonian tower. Babylonian tower
Picture of construction of the Babylonian tower. Babylonian tower

"Babylonian Tower" - Famous picture of the artist Peter Bruegel. The artist created at least two pictures on this plot.

Plot

The picture is based on the plot from the first book of Moses about the construction of the Babylonian Tower, which was found to people to reach his top of the sky: " Build yourself a city and tower tall to heaven" To pacify their pride, God mixed their tongues, so they could no longer understand each other and scattered them throughout the Earth, so the construction was not completed. The moral of this picture is the beaches of the whole earthly and the vainness of the strides of mortals to compare with the Lord.

"Babylonian Tower" (Vienna)

The Babylonian Tower of Breygel quite responds to the traditions of the picturesque image of this biblical parable: there is an amazing imagination of the scale of construction, the presence of a huge number of people and construction equipment. It is known that Bruegel visited Rome. In his "Babylonian Tower" it is easily recognizable by the Roman Colosseum with its typical features of Roman architecture: protruding columns, horizontal tiers and double arches. The seven floors of the tower already built in one way or another, the eighth floor is erected. The tower is surrounded by construction barracks, cranes, lifts used in those days, stairs and construction forests. The foot of the tower is located a city with a lively port. The locality where the Babylonian Tower is erected, with its plains and the sea very much resembles the Netherlands.

People depicted in the picture - workers, stone - seem very small and reminded with their diligence ants. A much larger than the figure of the inspection object of Nimrod - the legendary conqueror of Babylon in the II millennium BC. er, according to the tradition of the tower that was considered the head of the tower, and his suits in the lower left corner of the picture. Low, on the eastern manner bowlotes of the Nimode - tribute to the origin of parables.

It seems interesting that according to Bruegel in the failure, comprehended by such a "large-scale project", which are not suddenly arising language barriers, but mistakes made in the construction process. At first glance, a huge structure seems strong enough, but at the closest consideration it is clear that all the tiers are laid unevenly, the lower floors are either unfinished, or they are already crumbling, the building itself is rapped towards the city, and the prospects for the entire project are very sad.

"Babylonian Tower" (Rotterdam)


Peter Bruegel Elder
Babylonian Tower (Rotterdam). About 1563.
Tree, oil. 60 × 74.5 cm
Museum of Humanza Van Bengenna, Rotterdam
To: Pictures 1563

Presumably the same 1563 year dated and a smaller picture from the Boimans-Van Bengenen Museum, the so-called " Small Babylonian Tower" The historians of art have no consensus about whether this picture is written somewhat later or a few earlier "Big Babylonian Tower". Unlike the "Big Babylonian Tower", the picture is made in the dark color scheme and looks rather gloomy.

  • An option of a smaller format of the Babylonian Tower is located in the Dresden Art Gallery. Perhaps Bruegel wrote more copies on the popular plot, which were not preserved to our time. So, for example, in the guarantees of the Antwerp merchant Niklase Jonghelinka, Dated 1565, is mentioned another "Babylonian tower" of Bruegel.
  • Allyusia on the "Babylonian Tower" of Bruegel is the image of the city of Minas Tirit in the film "The Lord of the Rings".
  • The painting "The Babylonian Tower (Rotterdam)" serves as the cover of the album "Gorodod" of the Russian Raper Oxxxxymiron.

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Literature

Excerpt characterizing the Babylonian Tower (Picture)

Another day, at 8 am, Pierre and Nesvitsky arrived in Sokolnitsky Forest and found there Alokhov, Denisov and Rostov. Pierre had the kind of a man engaged in some considerations, not at all relating to the upcoming business. The face of his face was yellow. He apparently did not sleep the night. He absently looked around himself and wrinkled, as if from the bright sun. Two considerations exclusively occupied Him: the guilty of his wife, in which, after a sleepless night, there was no longer any doubt, and the innocence of Dolokhov, who had no reason to take care of the honor of a person for him. "Maybe I would have done the same in his place, I thought Pierre. I would probably have done the same thing; What is this duel, is it killing? Or I will kill him, or he will fall into my head, in the elbow, in the knee. Get away from here, to run, break somewhere, "came to his mind. But in those minutes when such thoughts came to him. He, with a particularly calm and scattered view, who had a respected respected on him, asked: "Will it be ready?"
When everything was ready, the sabers were stuck in the snow, meaning the barrier, to which it was necessary to converge, and the pistols were charged, Nesvitsky approached Pierre.
- I would not fulfill my duties, a graph, "he said with a timid voice," and would not have justified the trust and honor that you did to me, choosing me with my second, if I were in this important minute, I didn't say very important moment You have the truth. I believe that it does not have enough reason, and that it is not worth it to shed blood for him ... You were wrong, not quite right, you got excited ...
"Oh yeah, terribly stupid ..." said Pierre.
"So let me pass your regret, and I am sure that our opponents agree to accept your apology," said Nesvitsky (as well as other participants in the case and, as well as all in such matters, not believe that the case reached the actual duel) . "You know, a graph, much noble to aware of his mistake than to bring the case to irreparable. There was no offense on one side. Let me talk ...
- No, about what to say! - said Pierre, - still ... is it ready? - he added. - You tell me just how to walk, and shoot where? - He said, smiling unnaturally. "He picked up a gun in his hands, began to ask about the way of descent, since he still did not hold in the hands of a gun, what he did not want to confess. "Oh yeah, so, I know, I forgot only," he said.
"No apologies, nothing strongly," said Dolochov Denisov, who, on his part, also made an attempt to reconcile, and also approached the appointed place.
The place for the fight was chosen steps in 80 tons from the road on which Sanya remained, on a small sparkle of a pine forest, covered by the stood with the stood with the last days. Opponents stood steps 40 ka from each other, the edges of the glade. Secundants, measuring steps, paved, imprinted on wet, deep snow, traces from the place where they stood, to Sabel Nesvitsky and Denisov, who meant the barrier and stuck in the 10th steps away from each other. Thaw and fog continued; For 40 steps, nothing was visible. For a minute, everything was already ready, and all the same he was slowing to start, everyone was silent.

- Well, start! - said Doolokh.
"Well," said Pierre, still smiling. - I got scared. It was obvious that the case, which began so easily, could no longer be prevented that it was going on, already regardless of the will of people, and should have been done. Denisov first came forward to the barrier and proclaimed:
- Since P "Svatstniki refused to" them ", whether it is not possible to start: take guns and according to the word T" and begin to converge.
"G ..." Az! Two! T "And! ..." Denisov shouted angrily and moved to the side. Both went on the trotted paths closer and closer, in the fog recognizing each other. Opponents had the right, taking out to the barrier, shoot when someone wants. Shelokh was slow, without raising the gun, peering with his bright, shiny, blue eyes in the face of her opponent. His mouth, as always, had a smile like.
- So when I want - I can shoot! - said Pierre, with the Word three rapid steps went ahead, confrontation from the trotan walkway and walking on whole snow. Pierre held a gun, stretching forward his right hand, apparently afraid of the pistol not to kill himself. He diligently possessed his left hand, because he wanted to support her right hand, and he knew that it was impossible. Passing the steps six and getting off from the track in the snow, Pierre looked at his feet, again looked at Dolokhov again, and pulling his finger, as he was taught, shot. I do not expect such a strong sound, Pierre shuddered from his shot, then smiled himself his impression and stopped. Smoke, especially thick from the fog, prevented him to see him in the first moment; But another shot he was waiting for, did not follow. Only DOLOHOV's hurried steps were heard, and his figure seemed because of the smoke. With one hand he kept behind the left side, the other compressed an omitted pistol. His face was pale. Rostov ran up and something told him.

September 5, 1569, four hundred forty four years ago, Peter Bruegel senior died. The great artist of the past, he became our contemporary, a wise companion for people of the 21st century.

Cities Babylonian towers,
Burnt, we raise again,
And the god of the city on Pashny
Rushit, having a word.

V. Mayakovsky

What is the Babylonian Tower - the symbol of the unity of people of the entire planet or the sign of their disunity? Recall the biblical legend. The descendants of Noah, who spoke in the same language, settled in the land of Sennar (Shinar) and decided to build a city and tower tall to heaven. According to the plan of people, she had to become a symbol of human unity: "We will make a sign, so that we did not dissipate the face of the whole earth." God, seeing the city and the tower, judged: "Now nothing impossible for them." And he put an end to the bold act: mixed languages \u200b\u200bso that the builders stop understanding each other, and scattered people in the world.

ETEMENANK ZIKKUAT. Reconstruction. 6 c. BC.

This story looks in the biblical text as a plug-in novel. In the 10th chapter of the Book "Genesis" detailed the pedigree of the descendants of Noah, from which the peoples on the ground spread after the Flood ". Chapter 11 begins with a story about the tower, however, from the 10th verse, the interrupted the theme of the pedigree is resumed: "Here is a sima"



Mosaic in the chapel of the Palatina. Palermo, Sicily. 1140-70.

The dramatic, complete concentrated dynamics of the legend about the Babylonian pussy seems to break the calm epic story, seems more modern than the next and preceding text. However, this impression is deceptive: the Bible researchers believe that the tower of the tower arose no later than the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e., i.e. Almost 1000 years before the oldest layers of biblical texts were decorated in writing.

So did the Babylonian Tower exist? Yes, and not even alone! Reading further chapter 11 of the book "Genesis", we learn that Farra, Father Abraham, lived in ure, the largest city of Mesopotamia. Here, in the fertile valley of the Tiger rivers and Euphrates, at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. There was a powerful kingdom of Sumer and Akkada (by the way, the biblical name "Sennar" scientists decipher as "Sumer"). His inhabitants were erected in honor of their gods temples-zikkurats - stepped brick pyramids with a sanctuary on top. Built in about the XXI century. BC e. Three-tier zigarat in ure 21 meter height was truly a truly grand construction. Perhaps the memories of this "staircase in the sky" are long preserved in the memory of the jews of nomads and formed the basis of an ancient legend.


Construction of the Babylonian Tower.
Mosaic of the Cathedral in Montreal, Sicily. 1180s.

After a few centuries, after Farra and his Raisses left the UR and went to the land of Canaan, the distant descendants of Abraham were destined to not only see zigkurats, but also to participate in their construction. In 586 BC e. The king of Bavonia Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Judea and hijacked the prisoners in his power - almost the entire population of the Jewish kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar was not only a cruel conqueror, but also a great builder: With it, in the capital of the country, Babylon was erected by many wonderful buildings, and among them - the sikkurat of the ETEMENANK ("House of the foundation of the sky and the earth"), dedicated to the Supreme God of the city of Marduk. The seedrage church of 90 meters was built by the prisoners of the Babylonian king from different countries, including the Jews.


Construction of the Babylonian Tower.
Mosaic in the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice.
KON.12-NCH.13 centuries.

Historians and archaeologists have gathered enough evidence to claim with confidence: ETEMENANK ZIKCUAT and other similar buildings Babylonians became the protothes of the legendary tower. The final editorship of the biblical legend of the Babylonian pilottenization and mixing of languages, which took up after the return of Jews from captivity to his homeland, reflected their recent real impressions: a crowded city, a multi-time crowd, the construction of the Giant zikcurats. Even the name "Babylon" (Bavel), which comes from the Westernsmit "Bab Ilu" and means "Gate of God", Jews translated as "Mixing", from a similar hearing Hebrew word Balal (mixed): "Therefore, it is given the name Babylon, for there Mixed the Lord of the whole land. "


Master "Character Bedford". France.
Miniature "Babylonian Tower". 1423-30.

In the European art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, we will not find significant works on the plot of interest: basically it is mosaic and book miniatures - genre sketches, interesting to today's viewer as sketches of medieval life. Carefully, with a pretty naivety, artists are a bizarre tower and diligent builders.


Gerard Harenboout. Netherlands.
"Babylonian tower" from the brumaria Grimani. 1510th.

A worthy interpreter of the Tale of the Babylonian Tower received only on the outcome of the Renaissance, in the middle of the XVI century, when the biblical plot attracted the attention of Peter of the Older Breygel. There is very little about the life of the Great Netherlands artist. The researchers of his work "calculate" the biography of the master, studying indirect evidence, peering into every detail of his paintings.

Lucas Van Falkenborch. Netherlands.
Babylonian tower. 1568

Breygel's work on biblical topics talk about many: he has repeatedly applied to the plots, which rarely chose artists of the time, and that the most remarkable, interpreted them, relying on the well-established tradition, but on their own, original understanding of texts. This gives reason to assume that Peter Bruegel, a leaving of the peasant family, knew Latin well enough to read biblical stories on his own, and among them - the tale of the Babylonian Tower.


Unknown German artist.
Babylonian tower. 1590

The legend of the tower as if the artist attracted: he dedicated her three works. The earliest of them is not preserved. It is only known that it was a miniature on ivory (the most valuable material!), Belonged to the famous Roman miniaturist Julio Klovio. Bruegel lived in Rome during his Italian journey at the end of 1552 - early 1553. But was there a miniature created in this period on the order of the caulio? Perhaps the artist wrote her still in his homeland and brought to Rome as a sample of his skill. This question remains unanswered, as well as the question of which of the two of the following pictures was written before - Small (60x74cm), stored in the Rotterdam Museum of Humanis Wang Benningen, or Big (114x155cm), the most famous, art gallery of artistic and historical Museum in Vienna. Some art historians prove very withered that the Rotterdam painting was preceded by Vienna, others no less convincingly argue that first was created Vienna. In any case, Bruegel again turned to the topic of the Babylonian tower about ten years after returning from Italy: a large picture was written in 1563, Small - somewhat earlier or a little later.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Small" Babylonian tower. OK. 1563

In the architecture of the Rotterdam painting tower, the Italian experience of the artist was clearly reflected: the similarity of the construction with the Roman Coliseum is obvious. Bruegel, unlike its predecessors depicting a rectangular tower, makes a grand stepped building round, emphasizes the motive arches. However, not the similarity of the Brueglevskaya Tower with the Colossee is striking the viewer first of all.


Roman Coliseum.

A friend of the artist, Geographer Abraham Ortelus, said about Breiglele: "He wrote a lot of things that it was thought that it was impossible to convey." The words of Ortelus can be fully attributed to the picture from Rotterdam: the artist portrayed not just a high powerful tower - its scale is being patched, incomparable with human, he surpasses all imaginable measurements. The Tower "Growing to Heaven" is taken above the clouds and in comparison with the surrounding landscape - the city, the harbor, hills - it seems some kind of blasphemous. It tramples its volumes the commensuity of the earthly defendant, violates the Divine Harmony.

But there is no harmony and in the tower itself. It seems that the builders spoke each other in different languages \u200b\u200bfrom the very beginning of the work: otherwise, why did they build arches and windows over them who in what is much? Even in the lower tiers, neighboring cells differ from each other, and the higher the tower, the more visible disorder. And on the transcendent top reigns full chaos. In the interpretation of Breygel, the Lord's punishment - the mixing of languages \u200b\u200b- the outbreak of people is not overnight; Misunderstanding from the very beginning was inherent to builders, but still did not bother the work until he reached some critical limit.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Small" Babylonian tower. Fragment.

The Babylonian Tower on this picture of Breygel will never be completed. When looking at her, an expressive word is remembered from religious and philosophical treatises: Bogobilia. Still sooped here and there are ants, people, they stick to the harbor ships, but the feeling of meaninglessness of all undertakings, the doomes of the efforts of human do not leave the viewer. From the tower blows abandoned, from the picture - hopelessness: the proud idea of \u200b\u200bpeople to raise the heavens is not pleasing to God.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower. 1563

We now turn to the big "Babylonian tower." In the center of the picture - the same step cone with many inputs. The appearance of the tower has not changed significantly: we see the solid-caliber arches and windows, the architectural Nausecian on the top. As in a small picture, the city spread over to the left of the tower, right - the port. However, this tower is completely proportioned by the landscape. Her romance grows out of the coastal cliff, she sniffs over the plain, like a mountain, but after all the mountain, no matter how high it, it remains part of the usual earthly landscape.


The tower does not look abandoned - on the contrary, work boils here! Throughout, the people are delivered everywhere, materials are brought, the wheels of building machines are rotated, the stairs are arranged there, the Saraikes-Towards are paced. With amazing accuracy and true knowledge of the case depicts Bruegel to the modern construction technique.

The picture is full of movement: the city lives at the foot of the tower, the port is boil. In the foreground, we see the wave the relevant, truly Breyghelev genre scene: the impact building of all times and peoples attend the bosses - the Biblical Tsar of Nimrod, on the order of which, according to legend, was erected by the tower. He is in a hurry to free the road, the Kamenotees fall in the NIC, the retinue will catch the expression of the face of Chvlyvy Vladyka ...


Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower.
Fragment. Tsar Nimrod with a retinue.

However, this is the only scene imbued with irony, the subtle master of which was Bruegel. The work of the builders artist depicts with great sympathy and respect. And how can it be otherwise: after all, he is the son of the Netherlands, the country, where, in the expression of the French historian, the Tan, people were able to "without boredom to do the most boring things," where ordinary prosaic work was counted no less, but maybe even more than Hanging heroic gust.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower. Fragment.

However, what is the meaning of this work? After all, if you look at the top of the tower, it becomes obvious that the work clearly went into a dead end. But we note - the construction covers the lower tiers, which, according to the logic of things, should have been completed. It seems that desperate to build a "tower tower tall to heaven," people took up more specific and satisfying business - they decided to better arrange the one part of it, which is closer to Earth, to reality, to everyday life.

Or maybe some "joint project participants" retreated from construction, and others continue to work, and the mixing of languages \u200b\u200bthem is not a hindrance. One way or another, there is a feeling that the Babylonian tower is destined to build forever in the Vienna picture. So impact of centuries, overcoming mutual misunderstanding and enmity, the people of the Earth are erected by the Tower of Human Civilization. And they will not cease to erect while this world is worth, "there will be nothing impossible for them."

September 5, 1569, four hundred forty-four
about Peter Bruegel Senior died.
Great artist of the past, he became
our contemporary, wise
interlocutor
people of the 21st century.

Cities Babylonian towers,
Burnt, we raise again,
And the god of the city on Pashny
Rushit, having a word.

V. Mayakovsky

What is the Babylonian Tower - the symbol of the unity of people of the entire planet or the sign of their disunity? Recall the biblical legend. The descendants of Noah, which hasorina the same language, settled in the land of Sennar (Shinar) Ireshili to build a city and tower tall to heaven. According to the plan of people, she had to become a symbol of human unity: "We will make a sign, so that we did not dissipate the face of the whole earth." God, seeing the city and the tower, judged: "Now nothing impossible for them." And he put an end to the cheerfulness: mixed languages \u200b\u200bso that the builders stop understanding each other, and scattered people with a twice.

(C) (C)
ETEMENANK ZIKKUAT. Reconstruction. 6 c. BC.

This is a prominent in the biblical text, like a new novel. In the 10th chapter of the book "Genesis" detail the pedigree of the descendants of Noah, from which the peoples on the ground spread after the Flood ". Chapter 11 begins with the story of Obashne, however, from the 10th verse, a resumed the topic of the pedigree: "Here is the relationship of Sima."



Mosaic in the chapel of the Palatina. Palermo, Sicily. 1140-70.

The dramatic, complete concentrated dynamics of the legend about the Babylonian pussy seems to break the calm epic story, seems more modern than the next and preceding text. However, the impression is deceptive: the Bible researchers believe that the tower of the tower appear later than the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e., i.e. Almost 1000 years before the oldest layers of biblical texts were decorated in writing.

So did the Babylonian Tower exist? Yes, and not even alone! Reading further chapter 11 of the book "Genesis", we learn that Farra, Father Abraham, lived in ure, the largest city of Mesopotamia. Here, the forms of the Tiger and Euphrates rivers, at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The existence of the Kingdom of Sumer and Akkada (by the way, the Biblical name "Sennar" scientists decipher as "Sumer"). His inhabitants were erected in honor of their gods temples-zikkurats - stepped brick pyramids with a sanctuary on top. Built in about the XXI century. BC E.Trekhyarus zikkurat in a Ulovyota 21meter was truly a truly grand construction for his time. Perhaps the memories of this "staircase in the sky" are predominantly preserved in the memory of nomads and formed the basis of an ancient legend.

Construction of the Babylonian Tower.
Mosaic of the Cathedral in Montreal, Sicily. 1180s.

After a few centuries, after such as Egorodichi, Egorodichi left and went to the land of Canaan, a distant appearance was not to lave zikkurats, but also to participate in their construction. In 586 BC e. Tsar of Bavonia Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Judea and row his power of prisoners - almost the entire population of the Jewish kingdom. Alsohodnoorsor was not only a cruel conqueror, but also a great builder: with the Email the capital of the country, Babylon was known a lot of wonderful buildings, and among them-azikkurat ETEMENANK ("The foundation house Heaven and land ") dedicated to the Supreme God of the city of Marduk. The semilation temple of 90 meters high construction of the Babylonian king from different countries, including Jews.

Construction of the Babylonian Tower.
Mosaic in the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice.
KON.12-NCH.13 centuries.


Historians and archaeologists have assembled adopters in order to confidently assert: the zikcurate of the ETEMENANK and other similar to the construction of the legendary tower. The final edition of the biblical science of the ovavilon pillar of and mixing languages, which took shape after the return of Jews from captivity to their homeland, reflected their recent reality: a crowded city, a multilingual crowd, the construction of the giant zikkurats. Even the name "Bavilon" (Bavel), which occurs with the "Gate of God", the Jews translated as a "mixture", from similarly sound anniversary, Balal (mixed): "Therefore, the name Babylon is given to him, Lord mixed there all the land. "

Master "Character Bedford". France.
Miniature "Babylonian Tower". 1423-30.

In the European art of the Middle Ages and Renaissans, we will not find significant works of the story of us: basically it is mosaic and book miniatures - genre sketches, interesting to today's viewer as sketches of medieval life. Carefully, with pretty naivety, artists are fancy tower of diligent builders.


Gerard Harenboout. Netherlands.
"Babylonian tower" from the brumaria Grimani. 1510th.

A worthy interpreter of the Tale of the Babylonian Tower received only on the outcome of the Renaissance era, in the middle of the city, when the biblical journal attracted the older braglel. About the life of the Grand Diderland artistic is known very little. The investors of his creativity "calculate" the biography of the master, studying indirect evidence, peering into every detail of his paintings.

Lucas Van Falkenborch. Netherlands.
Babylonian tower. 1568

The works of Bruegel on biblical topics are talking about many things: he has repeatedly applied to the plots, which rarely chose artists of the time, and that the most remarkable, interpreted them, relying not to well-minded, but on their own, original understanding of texts. This gives reason to assume that the Bruegel, the leaving of the peasant family, knew Latin well enough to read his own readings, and among them - the tale of the Babylonian Tower.

Unknown German artist. Babylon tower. 1590

The legend of Obashne as if the artist attracted: he dedicated three works. The earliest of them is not preserved. It is only known that it was a miniature on ivory (the most valuable material!) Belonging to the sparkled Roman miniaturist Julio Condo. Bruegel lived in Rome during his Italian traveling by the end of 1552 - early 1553. But was there a miniature created in this period at the order of the caulio? Perhaps the artist wrote a hope of his homeland and brought to Rome as a sample of his skill. This question remains unanswered, as well as the question of which of the two of the following pictures was written before - Small (60x74cm), stored in the Rotterdam Museum of Humanis Wang Benningen, or Bolshaya (114x155cm), the most famous, from the picture Gallery Gallery-Historical Museum in Vienna. Some art historians prove very withered that the Rotterdam painting was preceded by Vienna, others no less convincingly argue that first was created Vienna. In any case, Bruegel again addressed the Ktem of the Babylonian Basher-seemingly embellished years of postprokerage from Italy: a big picture was written in 1563, Small - somewhat earlier or a little later.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Small" Babylonian tower. OK. 1563

In architectureBashnirotterdamskartin, explicitly affected the artist's impressions: the similarity of the construction with the Roman Coliseum is obvious. Bruegel, unlike its predecessors depicting a rectangular tower, makes a grand stepped building round, emphasizes the motive arches. However, not the similarity of the Breyghelevskaya Bashney, the Colossey amazing the viewer primarily.


Roman Coliseum .

A friend of the artist, Geographer Abraham Ortelus, said about Breiglele: "He wrote a lot of things that it was thought that it was impossible to convey." The words of Ortelus can be fully attributed to the picture from Rotterdam: the artist portrayed not just a high powerful tower - its scale is being patched, incomparable with human, he surpasses all imaginable measurements. The tower "Growing to Heaven" is taken above the clouds of Yves comparison with the surrounding landscape - the city, the harbor, the hills are exposed to some blasphemous huge. Oncepopirates with self-discs, the proportionality of the earthly defendant, violates the Divine Harmony.

But there is no harmony and in the tower itself. It seems that they were built with each other in different languages \u200b\u200bsince the very beginning of the work: otherwise, for example, the arches and windows above the nimikto in what is hoses? Daezhev's lower tiers nearby cells differ from each other, and havings, the tower, the more visible disorder. And on the excellent vertex, Multi -os.Thos. In the interpretation of Bruegel, the Lord's punishment - the mixing of languages \u200b\u200b- the outbreak of people is not overnight; Notponimans of the very beginning to the builders, but still did not bother the work, showed some critical limit.

Peter Bruegel senior. "Small" Babylonian tower. Fragment..

The Babylonian Tower on this picture of Breygel will never be completed. When looking at her, the expressive word of transigue-philosophical treatises is remembered: Bogobilia. Still sooped here and there are ants, people, still stick in the harbor ships, but the feeling of meaninglessness of all undertakings, the doomedness of human people does not leave the viewer. From the tower blows abandonality, from the painting - hopelessness: the proud idea of \u200b\u200bthe people of Rossto Heaven is pleasing to God.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower. 1563

We now turn the cable "Babylonian Tower." In the center of the picture - the absurd of the same step cone with a multitude of inputs. The appearance did not change significantly: we will re-vidify the various-caliber arches and windows, the architectural fault of the Nausea on top. As in the small picture, the city's units will spread the city, on the right - the port. However, this tower is proportionate to the landscape. Her romance grows out of the coastal cliff, it is hanging over the plain, like a mountain, but after all the mountain, no matter how high it, with the remaining of the usual earthly landscape.

The tower does not look abandoned - on the contrary, work boils here! Throughout, people are blunting everywhere, materials are being imported, the wheels of the construction workers are rotated, there are the stairs there, on the ledges of the tower of the Summer Schools. With amazing accuracy and true knowledge of the case depicts Bruegel to the modern construction technique.

The picture is full of movement: the city lives at the foot of the tower, the port is boil. In the foreground, we are apprequently relevant, the truth-boreghel genre scene: the shock construction of all times and the peopework is the Biblical King Nimrod, on the order of which, according to legend, was erected by the tower. I hurry to free the road, Kamenotees of Padayutunitsa, the Sweet will catch the expression of the face of Chwalny Lord

Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower.
Fragment. Tsar Nimrod with a retinue.

However, this is the only one who is imbued with irony, whose thin master was Bruegel. The work of the builders artist depicts with great sympathy and respect. Yes, and how can it be otherwise: he is the son of the Netherlands, the country, where, in the expression of the French historian, the Tan, people were able to "without boredom to do the most boring things," thereosobydnydnaya labor was not less expensive, and maybe even more than the elevated heroic Gust.

Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower. Fragment.

However, what is the meaning of this work? After all, if you look at the top of the tower, it becomes obvious that work
clearly visited a dead end. But we note - building up the lower tiers, which, according to the logic of things, should have been
to be completed. It seems that desperate to build a "tower tall to heaven," people engaged more
specific and satisfying business - they decided to get a benefit of her part, so that the land, to reality,
digestive.

Or maybe some "joint project participants" retreated from construction, Adruga continue to work,
and the mixing of languages \u200b\u200bthem is not a hindrance. Anyway, the emergence that the Babylonian Tower in the Vienna picture is destined to build forever. So impact of centuries, overcoming mutually renovation and enmity, withdraw the Earth's Earthly Summer Civilization. And they will not cease to erect while this world is worth, "there will be nothing impossible for them."


Among all the works of world visual art, Patter Bragegel Senior "Babylonian Tower" occupies a special place. Political satire, an anticatolic position - the artist encrypted many symbols in the picture on a popular biblical theme.



Peter Bruegel Sr. created his famous picture of Peter in 1563. It is known that the artist wrote at least another picture on the same topics. True, it is much smaller in size, first, and written in a darker color scheme.

The painting the artist put the biblical plot about the origin of different languages \u200b\u200band peoples. According to the legend, after the great flood, the descendants of Noah settled on the land of Sennar. But they did not live calmly, and they decided to build the tower so high so that she would take to heaven to God. The Almighty was against people to consider themselves even to him, so he forced everyone to speak different languages. As a result, no one could understand each other, from this construction of the Babylonian tower ceased.


A lot of small details are written in the picture. If you pay attention to the bottom left corner, then you can see there a small group of people. This is approaching Tsar Nimrod and his retinue, and the rest fall into the NIC. According to legend, it was he who led the construction of the Babylonian tower.

Researchers believe that Tsar Nimrod is the personification of the despot of King Charles V from Habsburgs. Representatives of this dynasty ruled in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc. But after Karl V renounced the crown, the entire empire is slowly, but rightly began to decay.


Just with the tower. The artist himself more than once focused on the fact that if an asymmetrical tilted Babylonian tower would be built by the mind and did not allow mistakes, then the building would be honored, and did not paint.


Curiously, but the shores in the picture are more reminded by Mesopotamia, but the native artist is Holland. The rapid urbanization of Antwerp led to the city that the city was flooded by people of different religions. These were Catholics, and Protestants, and Lutherans and many others. They no longer united alone faith. Many art historians interpret such an approach as a mockery over the Catholic Church, which no longer controlled everyone around. In fact, the city became the most real disassembled "Babylonian towers".

Cities Babylonian towers,
Burnt, we raise again,
And the god of the city on Pashny
Rushit, having a word.

V. Mayakovsky

What is the Babylonian Tower - the symbol of the unity of people of the entire planet or the sign of their disunity? Recall the biblical legend. The descendants of Noah, which hasorina the same language, settled in the land of Sennar (Shinar) Ireshili to build a city and tower tall to heaven. According to the plan of people, she had to become a symbol of human unity: "We will make a sign, so that we did not dissipate the face of the whole earth." God, seeing the city and the tower, judged: "Now nothing impossible for them." And he put an end to the cheerfulness: mixed languages \u200b\u200bso that the builders stop understanding each other, and scattered people with a twice.


Mosaic in the chapel of the Palatina. Palermo, Sicily. 1140-70.



ETEMENANK ZIKKUAT. Reconstruction. 6 c. BC.

This is a prominent in the biblical text, like a new novel. In the 10th chapter of the book "Genesis" detail the pedigree of the descendants of Noah, from which the peoples on the ground spread after the Flood ". Chapter 11 begins with the story of Obashne, however, from the 10th verse, a resumed the topic of the pedigree: "Here is the relationship of Sima."

The dramatic, complete concentrated dynamics of the legend about the Babylonian pussy seems to break the calm epic story, seems more modern than the next and preceding text. However, the impression is deceptive: the Bible researchers believe that the tower of the tower appear later than the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e., i.e. Almost 1000 years before the oldest layers of biblical texts were decorated in writing.

Construction of the Babylonian Tower.
Mosaic of the Cathedral in Montreal, Sicily. 1180s.

So did the Babylonian Tower exist? Yes, and not even alone! Reading further chapter 11 of the book "Genesis", we learn that Farra, Father Abraham, lived in ure, the largest city of Mesopotamia. Here, the forms of the Tiger and Euphrates rivers, at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The existence of the Kingdom of Sumer and Akkada (by the way, the Biblical name "Sennar" scientists decipher as "Sumer"). His inhabitants were erected in honor of their gods temples-zikkurats - stepped brick pyramids with a sanctuary on top. Built in about the XXI century. BC E.Trekhyarus zikkurat in a Ulovyota 21meter was truly a truly grand construction for his time. Perhaps the memories of this "staircase in the sky" are predominantly preserved in the memory of nomads and formed the basis of an ancient legend.

After a few centuries, after such as Egorodichi, Egorodichi left and went to the land of Canaan, a distant appearance was not to lave zikkurats, but also to participate in their construction. In 586 BC e. Tsar of Bavonia Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Judea and row his power of prisoners - almost the entire population of the Jewish kingdom. Alsohodnoorsor was not only a cruel conqueror, but also a great builder: with the Email the capital of the country, Babylon was known a lot of wonderful buildings, and among them-azikkurat ETEMENANK ("The foundation house Heaven and land ") dedicated to the Supreme God of the city of Marduk. The semilation temple of 90 meters high construction of the Babylonian king from different countries, including Jews.

Construction of the Babylonian Tower.
Mosaic in the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice.
KON.12-NCH.13 centuries.


Historians and archaeologists have assembled adopters in order to confidently assert: the zikcurate of the ETEMENANK and other similar to the construction of the legendary tower. The final edition of the biblical science of the ovavilon pillar of and mixing languages, which took shape after the return of Jews from captivity to their homeland, reflected their recent reality: a crowded city, a multilingual crowd, the construction of the giant zikkurats. Even the name "Bavilon" (Bavel), which occurs with the "Gate of God", the Jews translated as a "mixture", from similarly sound anniversary, Balal (mixed): "Therefore, the name Babylon is given to him, Lord mixed there all the land. "

Master "Character Bedford". France.
Miniature "Babylonian Tower". 1423-30.

In the European art of the Middle Ages and Renaissans, we will not find significant works of the story of us: basically it is mosaic and book miniatures - genre sketches, interesting to today's viewer as sketches of medieval life. Carefully, with pretty naivety, artists are fancy tower of diligent builders.


Gerard Harenboout. Netherlands.
"Babylonian tower" from the brumaria Grimani. 1510th.

A worthy interpreter of the Tale of the Babylonian Tower received only on the outcome of the Renaissance era, in the middle of the city, when the biblical journal attracted the older braglel. About the life of the Grand Diderland artistic is known very little. The investors of his creativity "calculate" the biography of the master, studying indirect evidence, peering into every detail of his paintings.

Lucas Van Falkenborch. Netherlands.
Babylonian tower. 1568

The works of Bruegel on biblical topics are talking about many things: he has repeatedly applied to the plots, which rarely chose artists of the time, and that the most remarkable, interpreted them, relying not to well-minded, but on their own, original understanding of texts. This gives reason to assume that the Bruegel, the leaving of the peasant family, knew Latin well enough to read his own readings, and among them - the tale of the Babylonian Tower.

Unknown German artist. Babylon tower. 1590

The legend of Obashne as if the artist attracted: he dedicated three works. The earliest of them is not preserved. It is only known that it was a miniature on ivory (the most valuable material!) Belonging to the sparkled Roman miniaturist Julio Condo. Bruegel lived in Rome during his Italian traveling by the end of 1552 - early 1553. But was there a miniature created in this period at the order of the caulio? Perhaps the artist wrote a hope of his homeland and brought to Rome as a sample of his skill. This question remains unanswered, as well as the question of which of the two of the following pictures was written before - Small (60x74cm), stored in the Rotterdam Museum of Humanis Wang Benningen, or Bolshaya (114x155cm), the most famous, from the picture Gallery Gallery-Historical Museum in Vienna. Some art historians prove very withered that the Rotterdam painting was preceded by Vienna, others no less convincingly argue that first was created Vienna. In any case, Bruegel again addressed the Ktem of the Babylonian Basher-seemingly embellished years of postprokerage from Italy: a big picture was written in 1563, Small - somewhat earlier or a little later.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Small" Babylonian tower. OK. 1563

In architectureBashnirotterdamskartin, explicitly affected the artist's impressions: the similarity of the construction with the Roman Coliseum is obvious. Bruegel, unlike its predecessors depicting a rectangular tower, makes a grand stepped building round, emphasizes the motive arches. However, not the similarity of the Breyghelevskaya Bashney, the Colossey amazing the viewer primarily.


Roman Coliseum .

A friend of the artist, Geographer Abraham Ortelus, said about Breiglele: "He wrote a lot of things that it was thought that it was impossible to convey." The words of Ortelus can be fully attributed to the picture from Rotterdam: the artist portrayed not just a high powerful tower - its scale is being patched, incomparable with human, he surpasses all imaginable measurements. The tower "Growing to Heaven" is taken above the clouds of Yves comparison with the surrounding landscape - the city, the harbor, the hills are exposed to some blasphemous huge. Oncepopirates with self-discs, the proportionality of the earthly defendant, violates the Divine Harmony.

But there is no harmony and in the tower itself. It seems that they were built with each other in different languages \u200b\u200bsince the very beginning of the work: otherwise, for example, the arches and windows above the nimikto in what is hoses? Daezhev's lower tiers nearby cells differ from each other, and havings, the tower, the more visible disorder. And on the excellent vertex, Multi -os.Thos. In the interpretation of Bruegel, the Lord's punishment - the mixing of languages \u200b\u200b- the outbreak of people is not overnight; Notponimans of the very beginning to the builders, but still did not bother the work, showed some critical limit.

Peter Bruegel senior. "Small" Babylonian tower. Fragment..

The Babylonian Tower on this picture of Breygel will never be completed. When looking at her, the expressive word of transigue-philosophical treatises is remembered: Bogobilia. Still sooped here and there are ants, people, still stick in the harbor ships, but the feeling of meaninglessness of all undertakings, the doomedness of human people does not leave the viewer. From the tower blows abandonality, from the painting - hopelessness: the proud idea of \u200b\u200bthe people of Rossto Heaven is pleasing to God.


Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower. 1563

We now turn the cable "Babylonian Tower." In the center of the picture - the absurd of the same step cone with a multitude of inputs. The appearance did not change significantly: we will re-vidify the various-caliber arches and windows, the architectural fault of the Nausea on top. As in the small picture, the city's units will spread the city, on the right - the port. However, this tower is proportionate to the landscape. Her romance grows out of the coastal cliff, it is hanging over the plain, like a mountain, but after all the mountain, no matter how high it, with the remaining of the usual earthly landscape.

The tower does not look abandoned - on the contrary, work boils here! Throughout, people are blunting everywhere, materials are being imported, the wheels of the construction workers are rotated, there are the stairs there, on the ledges of the tower of the Summer Schools. With amazing accuracy and true knowledge of the case depicts Bruegel to the modern construction technique.

The picture is full of movement: the city lives at the foot of the tower, the port is boil. In the foreground, we are apprequently relevant, the truth-boreghel genre scene: the shock construction of all times and the peopework is the Biblical King Nimrod, on the order of which, according to legend, was erected by the tower. I hurry to free the road, Kamenotees of Padayutunitsa, the Sweet will catch the expression of the face of Chwalny Lord

Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower.
Fragment. Tsar Nimrod with a retinue.

However, this is the only one who is imbued with irony, whose thin master was Bruegel. The work of the builders artist depicts with great sympathy and respect. Yes, and how can it be otherwise: he is the son of the Netherlands, the country, where, in the expression of the French historian, the Tan, people were able to "without boredom to do the most boring things," thereosobydnydnaya labor was not less expensive, and maybe even more than the elevated heroic Gust.

Peter Bruegel senior. "Big" Babylonian tower. Fragment.

However, what is the meaning of this work? After all, if you look at the top of the tower, it becomes obvious that work
clearly visited a dead end. But we note - building up the lower tiers, which, according to the logic of things, should have been
to be completed. It seems that desperate to build a "tower tall to heaven," people engaged more
specific and satisfying business - they decided to get a benefit of her part, so that the land, to reality,
digestive.

Or maybe some "joint project participants" retreated from construction, Adruga continue to work,
and the mixing of languages \u200b\u200bthem is not a hindrance. Anyway, the emergence that the Babylonian Tower in the Vienna picture is destined to build forever. So impact of centuries, overcoming mutually renovation and enmity, withdraw the Earth's Earthly Summer Civilization. And they will not cease to erect while this world is worth, "there will be nothing impossible for them."