The Census at Bethlehem facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Census at Bethlehem
Artist	Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year	1566
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 is a famous painting by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. He painted it in 1566 using oil paints on a wooden panel. This artwork is special because it's one of the first paintings in Western art to show a lot of snow. Bruegel painted it right after a very cold winter in 1565. You can see this painting today at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.

What the Painting Shows

A closer look at Mary and Joseph

The old castle in the background

The painting shows the town of Bethlehem, but it looks like a village in Flanders (a region in Belgium) during winter at sunset. Many people are gathered at a building on the left side. They are there to register their details with a scribe, which was like a census. A sign with a double-headed eagle, a symbol of the powerful Habsburg family who ruled at the time, is on the building.

Among the people heading to the building are Joseph and the pregnant Virgin Mary, who is riding a donkey. The painting also shows everyday life in the cold. Children are playing games on the ice and having snowball fights. In the middle of the painting, there's a spoked wheel. Some people think this might represent the idea of "fortune" or "luck."

On the right, a man in a small hut holds a clapper. This was a warning to keep people away from those with leprosy, a serious skin disease common in Europe back then. There's also a begging bowl in front of the hut. In the background, you can see men drinking at a temporary bar. Further away, there's a well-kept church and a castle that is falling apart.

Bruegel often painted stories from the Bible as if they were happening in his own time. Here, he shows the census mentioned in the Bible, but he makes it look like a scene from 16th-century Europe. Some people believe he was also commenting on the strict rules of the Spanish government in the Netherlands. However, he might just be showing how complicated official paperwork can be.

The events in the painting come from the Bible, in the book of Luke 2, verses 1-5:

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.

– Luke 2:1-5, NKJV

The ruined castle in the painting's top right corner looks like the towers and gates of Amsterdam.

Other Versions of the Painting

After Pieter Bruegel the Elder died, his son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, and his art studio made many copies of this painting. One of these copies was sold for $10 million in 2013! Another copy, made in 1610, is also kept at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.

See also

In Spanish: Censo en Belén para niños