The Census at Bethlehem
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The Census at Bethlehem | |
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Artist | Pieter Bruegel the Elder |
Year | 1566[1] |
Type | Oil on panel |
Dimensions | 116 cm × 164.5 cm (46 in × 64.8 in) |
Location | Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels |
The Census at Bethlehem (also known as The Numbering at Bethlehem) is an oil-on-panel by the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, painted in 1566. It is signed and measures about 1155 × 1645 mm. It is currently held and exhibited at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, which acquired it in 1902. It is one of the first paintings in Western art to feature a significant snow landscape and was painted in the aftermath of the winter of 1565, which was one of the harshest winters on record.
Description
The painting shows Bethlehem as a Flemish village in winter at sundown. A group of people is gathered at a building on the left, having their details taken down by a scribe. A sign bearing the Habsburg double-headed eagle is visible on the building. Other people are making their way to the same building, including the figures of
As he often did, Bruegel treats a biblical story, here the census of Quirinius, as a contemporary event. And once again, reference to particular political events has been adduced - in this case, the severity of the Spanish administration in the southern Netherlands.[2] However, Bruegel may well be making a more general criticism of bureaucratic methods.[3]
The events depicted are described in
This is a rare subject in previous
Copies
Pieter Brueghel the Younger and his studio made dozens of copies of the painting after his father's death, one of which was sold at auction for $10 million in 2013. Another copy, dated from 1610, is also at Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.
See also
Notes
- ^ Signed "BRVEGEL 1566"
- ^ Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, the Netherlands region was part of the Seventeen Provinces, which also included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land in France and Germany.
- ISBN 0-00-001088-X(in Italian)
- ^ From online Luke 2
- ISBN 0-517-44772-X
Further reading
- Orenstein, Nadine M., ed. (2001). Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. ISBN 9780870999901. (see index)