The Census at Bethlehem
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| Artist | Pieter Bruegel the Elder |
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| 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 Flemish renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, painted in 1566. Acquired in 1902, it is currently held and exhibited at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.
Description
As often before, Bruegel treats a biblical story 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 Luke 2, 1-5: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered... So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
This is a rare subject in previous Netherlandish art. The ruined castle in the backgroundsee 2nd detail is based on the towers and gates of Amsterdam.[5]
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.
- ↑ Cf. Pietro Allegretti. Brueghel. Milan:Skira, 2003. ISBN 0-00-001088-X (Italian)
- ↑ From online Luke 2
- ↑ Cf. Max Seidel, Roger H. Marijnissen. Bruegel. Pt.2, Random House, 1985. ISBN 0-517-44772-X
References
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Further reading
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (see index)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:The Census at Bethlehem by Bruegel the Elder. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pieter Bruegel the Elder. |
- The Census at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (French)
- Bosch Bruegel Society
- 99 works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
- Creative Bruegel laid the foundation of the Netherlands School (Russian)
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| Notable paintings |
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| Survives in copies | ||
- Articles with Italian-language external links
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with no article parameter
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Articles with French-language external links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana with a Wikisource reference
- Paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
- 1560s paintings
- Collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
- Paintings of the Virgin Mary
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