22 fascinating details you probably never noticed on Bruegel’s "The Tower of Babel"
I was surprised when I learned that this picture is so detailed and beautiful! Hope you enjoy this as I do.
’’The Tower of Babel’’
The distant view
1. A castle, a river a windmill, meadows and mountains.
2. Travelers are heading towards the tower.
3. Vegetable gardens are visible behind the wall.
4. A cart is going over a bridge while women are doing laundry in the river next to a little windmill.
5. There is a well next to the river, and people are planting something in the vegetable garden.
The middle distance
6. Blacksmith’s shops are standing near the tower.
7. Some people are resting or sleeping, while others are, well, doing their business.
8. Workers on the lower level are daubing plaster on a wall.
9. Lorries with building material are going uphill.10. Carts are soon to be loaded.
11. A raft.
12. A discharge of ships.
The distant view
13. Houses and vegetable gardens.
14. Cows in the meadow and travelers who are heading towards the town.
The tower
15. The tower is being built for so long that there are people living on the construction site: some of them are taking care of their flower gardens, some are putting linen out to dry, and some are cooking lunch over the fire.
16. One floor up we can see just about the same thing.
17. The workers.
18. More workers.
The foreground
19. The masons.
20. The heavy lifters.
21. Nimrod — a biblical king who ordered the Tower of Babel to be built.
22. The workers.