The Entry of the Animals into Noah's Ark (1613) Poster

A profusion of animals fills the earth and sky. Fighting, playing, climbing, flying, and swimming, they are shepherded by Noah toward the ark in the far distance. All species of animals are portrayed, from large lumbering elephants to tiny turtles and hamsters in the foreground. Bats and birds soar across the sky, receding into the background where brighter skies hold promise of a future. The story of Noah's ark provided a subject well suited to Jan Brueghel the Elder's descriptive abilities. Overcome by the wickedness of the human race, God resolved to cleanse the earth with a great flood. He spared only the lives of the family of Noah, the sole just man. God instructed Noah to build an ark and to take on board a male and a female of every species of bird and beast. The Entry of the Animals into Noah's Ark was painted by Brueghel during his appointment as court painter to Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella, rulers of the Southern Netherlands (a region in western Europe that corresponds to Belgium today). The exploration of the Americas in the 1500s spurred an increased curiosity about the natural world. By the time Brueghel was painting, turkeys (from North America) and guinea pigs (from South America), seen here in the foreground, were familiar animals to European rulers. The Archdukes kept a menagerie of rare animals and birds, including parrots from Central and South America, at their Brussels palace, which enabled Brueghel to study and paint them precisely.