Bruegel painted the subject of the Tower of Babel three times. The first version (now lost), very small and painted on ivory, is mentioned in the inventory of Giulio Clovio, the famous miniaturist, whom Bruegel met and collaborated with in Rome in 1553. The second version was a painting on panel, which is dated 1563 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and the third was a smaller painting, now in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The Rotterdam painting is generally thought to date from a year or so after the picture in Vienna. The latter is more traditional in its treatment of the subject in that it includes the visit of King Nimrod to the incomplete Tower, in the lower right-hand corner.

The story of the Tower of Babel (like that of the Suicide of Saul) was interpreted as an example of pride punished, and that is no doubt what Bruegel intended his painting to illustrate.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	The Tower of Babel 1563 Oil on oak panel, 114 x 155 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	1500*1101 True Color 276 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	1000*1327 True Color 190 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	900*1190 True Color 182 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	826*1050 True Color 193 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	1141*900 True Color 162 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	942*1200 True Color 205 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	731*898 True Color 94 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	726*899 True Color 77 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	731*900 True Color 97 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	733*884 True Color 87 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	726*883 True Color 90 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	731*883 True Color 72 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	734*894 True Color 86 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	730*895 True Color 90 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	724*895 True Color 85 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	730*895 True Color 92 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	727*896 True Color 85 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	733*894 True Color 84 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	730*882 True Color 88 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	729*883 True Color 89 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	733*883 True Color 90 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	729*892 True Color 70 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	730*891 True Color 87 Kb
	The Tower of Babel (detail) 1563 Oil on oak panel, width of detail 7 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	733*892 True Color 78 Kb
	The "Little" Tower of Babel c. 1564 Oil on panel, 60 x 75 cm Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam	1198*1000 True Color 181 Kb
	The "Little" Tower of Babel (detail) c. 1564 Oil on panel Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam	1115*900 True Color 185 Kb