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The (Great) Tower of Babel
Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder
 1563    Painting

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The story of the Tower of Babel is told in the book of Genesis, chapter 11, verses 1-9. Babel, a city in the land of Shinar, was the first city built by the descendants of Noah after the Great Flood. Their leader, Nimrod, planned to build a tower of bricks and lime that would reach to the heavens. He was conceited and acted against God’s will. God condemned these ambitious, vain plans and confounded the construction. He changed what was once a nation with one language into numerous peoples that were spread across the face of the earth, each speaking a different language. From then on the different peoples lived in a ‘confusion of tongues’.

The story of the Tower of Babel contains a universal message. The biblical construction of the tower symbolises man’s ambition to attain the highest possible goal. It also symbolises the eternal struggle between mankind’s ambition and his hubris, which is mercilessly punished by God. Mankind blindly trusts his own capabilities and the unbridled possibilities of technology. God’s punishment of this arrogance symbolises man’s insignificance and mortality. Bruegel too is somewhat vain in his attempt to paint the tower that was designed to reach to the heavens, thus reinforcing the message of the story. In Bruegel’s depiction of ‘The Tower of Babel’, God’s punishment has not yet been enacted: the bricks are still being carried up the tower and the harbour below is a hive of activity.

Bruegel made ‘The Tower of Babel’ around 1560 when he was approximately 35 years old. He visited Rome and took inspiration from the Colosseum for the tower’s architecture. Towards the top of the building, however, the arches take on the more pointed form found in Gothic cathedrals.

The Tower of Babel was a popular theme in the 16th century, especially in Antwerp, where Bruegel worked. Antwerp was a busy harbour city, visited by ships from all over the world and numerous languages could be heard on its streets. This made the Old Testament story of the confusion of tongues all the more relevant. Bruegel painted two other versions of the ‘Tower of Babel’. One is in the Kunsthistorisch Museum in Vienna. The painting is smaller than the version in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the construction of the tower is depicted at an earlier stage. The other version is a miniature painted on a piece of ivory. The whereabouts of the latter work are unknown.

The Accursed Fig Tree (Le figuier maudit)
Artist: James Tissot
 c. 1886    Painting

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The painting depicts a scene from the Bible where Jesus encounters a fig tree that bears no fruit. Jesus, with his hand raised, appears to be cursing the tree. He is surrounded by a small group of people who appear to be his disciples. The fig tree dominates the right side of the composition, its bare branches stark against the landscape. The overall tone of the painting is somber, reflecting the gravity of the event.

This painting by James Tissot was created between 1886 and 1894 and is currently held by the Brooklyn Museum. The painting measures 0.279 meters in width and 0.213 meters in height.

The Accursed Fig Tree painting is an opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. It measures 8 3/8 x 11 in. and is housed in The Brooklyn Museum as part of the portfolio The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

This parable as Jesus warning Christians that they must bear fruits after their conversion worthy of repentance or risk being condemned to Hell. God, in his mercy, repeatedly checks on believers to see if they have borne fruit worthy of their baptism and conversion. If someone who has been baptized and says they are Christian has not borne fruit, they are condemned. This verse was used during the Counter-Reformation to help support the belief of the Church that faith without works is dead.

 

Earliest Images of Jesus

The Bible, its themes, events and characters, are the subject of many of mankind's finest works of art.

Here, we endeavor to present a myriad of examples from the history of art.

Most items will contain information about the particular piece, and/or the artist who created it. Also, many entries provide links that will take you to the Bible story to which the image is related.

Search by Category and/or Type, or click through the pages to view and study artwork of interest.

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