The Tower of Babel

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

c. 1563 · Oil on panel · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Size4:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Tower of Babel

Hunters in the Snow (Winter)

Children's Games

3 × $59 at 24 × 18 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525–1569)
Year: c. 1563
Medium: Oil on panel
Original size: 114 × 155 cm
Collection: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (the larger of Bruegel's two versions)
Movement: Northern Renaissance

A vast spiral tower rises out of a flat Flemish landscape beside a harbour, its upper storeys unfinished and leaning, its arches modelled on the Colosseum, which Bruegel had seen in Rome. King Nimrod and his retinue inspect the stonemasons in the foreground while hundreds of tiny workers, cranes and hoists swarm over the structure. Bruegel signed and dated the panel in 1563, the year he moved from Antwerp to Brussels; it was owned by the emperor Rudolf II by 1600 and has been in Vienna since. He painted a second, smaller Tower, now in Rotterdam, and a lost miniature on ivory. The subject from Genesis is a warning against pride, but the painting is also a precise record of sixteenth-century building technology.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Hundreds of tiny workers and cranes make this a picture to stand in front of, for a study, office or hallway at 24×18 where the detail is legible. A black frame on a warm neutral wall; it does not need company.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Northern Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (c. 1563)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: grand
Rooms: hallway or entryway, study or library, home office, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×18. Prints at 16×12, 24×18 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 16×12, 24×18 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Tower of Babel in the public domain?

Yes. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525–1569) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Kunsthistorisches Museum.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 16×12 and 24×18 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Tower of Babel painted, and in what medium?

The Tower of Babel dates from c. 1563 and was made in oil on panel; the original measures 114 × 155 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×18 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×12 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Tower of Babel we'd choose 24×18. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

The Tower of Babel (Pieter Bruegel the Elder) — The Tower of Babel · Pieter Bruegel the Elder · 1563. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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