The Tower of Babel, Marten van Valckenborch the Elder
The link is to a zoomable version of the image on Google Art Project; there is a downloadable file on Wikimedia Commons; the original is in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden State Art Museums.
Flemish Renaissance painter Marten van Valckenborch painted a number of complex compositions depicting the Biblical story of the building of the Tower of Babel (of which you can find some other examples here and here).
I’ve found this one in particular to be striking in its dark, sombre tones, set against a light but clouded sky and framed by a cradle of dark foreground elements.
The repetition of forms and change in size of the elements as the tower ascends has a fascinatingly recursive feel to it.
It’s interesting to compare Van Vlakenborch’s interpretations to that of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, which was undoubtedly a primary influence on them, and on similar takes on the subject by other artists.
The story of the Tower of Babel is a story of hubris, a term we should all have in our awareness as we watch current events unfold.
