Artwork
The Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Joos de Momper the Younger. It dates from 1601 and is held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays humanity's hubris through the monumental Tower of Babel, a biblical narrative of divine punishment for overreaching ambition.
The painting portrays humanity's hubris through the monumental Tower of Babel, a biblical narrative of divine punishment for overreaching ambition. Its towering structure dominates a bustling scene of workers and onlookers, symbolizing the futility of human pride before God. The composition reflects Counter-Reformation themes of divine order versus human folly, with the unfinished summit emphasizing divine authority.
Technique & Style
The Tower of Babel is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for large-scale Flemish panel-to-canvas productions of the early seventeenth century. The painting measures 175 cm in height by 249 cm in width, giving it a broad horizontal format suited to the panoramic architectural subject. Source records classify the work as a religious painting, with the genre and material attributions consistent across both the internal catalogue entry and the Wikidata record.
The work is attributed to Joos de Momper the Younger, with Frans Francken the Younger also named as a creator on the Wikidata entry, indicating a collaborative production typical of Antwerp workshops of the period. The painting is held in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and housed at the Oldmasters Museum.
History & Provenance
The painting The Tower of Babel was created in 1601 by Joos de Momper the Younger, with contributions from Frans Francken the Younger. Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 175 cm in height and 249 cm in width. The piece depicts the biblical narrative of the Tower of Babel, featuring figures of workers and a detailed sky.
It is currently held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, where it is displayed at the Oldmasters Museum.
The Tower of Babel is held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, specifically in the Oldmasters Museum. Its inventory number is not provided in the available sources. The work has been part of exhibitions at the museum, reflecting its significance within the institution's displays of Flemish Baroque art.
Overview
Joos de Momper the Younger painted The Tower of Babel in 1601, employing oil on canvas to render a bustling construction scene. The composition centers on a towering, multi‑storeyed structure that dominates a cloudy sky, while workers and onlookers populate the foreground and middle ground. Muted earth tones and a sweeping landscape frame the biblical episode within a distinctly Flemish visual language.
Context
The painting belongs to a broader Flemish tradition of rendering biblical stories within expansive, topographically detailed landscapes. During de Momper’s career, Antwerp was a hub for artistic exchange, and his work reflects contemporary interests in combining narrative content with a realistic portrayal of natural settings, bridging Mannerist conventions and emerging Baroque sensibilities.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Joos de Momper the Younger or Joost de Momper the Younger (c. 1564 – 5 February 1635) was a Flemish landscape painter active in Antwerp between the late 16th century and the early 17th century. Brueghel's influence is…
Museum
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
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