Babylon, the Great, is Fallen

Robert Roberg, Babylon, the Great, is Fallen, 1992, acrylic, oil, tempera and glitter on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.28, © ca. 1990, Robert Roberg
Copied Robert Roberg, Babylon, the Great, is Fallen, 1992, acrylic, oil, tempera and glitter on canvas, 39 7⁄8 x 39 3⁄4 in. (101.3 x 101.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.28, © ca. 1990, Robert Roberg

Artwork Details

Title
Babylon, the Great, is Fallen
Artist
Date
1992
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
39 7⁄8 x 39 3⁄4 in. (101.3 x 101.0 cm.)
Copyright
© ca. 1990, Robert Roberg
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
acrylic, oil, tempera and glitter on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — castle
  • Allegory — place — Babylon
  • Animal — lion
  • Architecture — boat — sailboat
  • Figure group
Object Number
1997.124.28
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.28

Artwork Description

Robert Roberg painted many images of the Apocalypse to warn people of what could happen if they did not follow God. Babylon, the Great, is Fallen illustrates a scene from the book of Revelation in which Saint John describes the destruction of the city (Tom Patterson, Contemporary Folk Art, Treasures of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2001). In Revelation, Babylon appears as a temptress, "sitting on a scarlet beast . . . dressed in purple and scarlet and holding a gold cup filled with everything vile and with the impurities of her prostitution." The seven green hills below her are the kings who were seduced by her wicked ways, while the water represents all the nations under her power. Roberg surrounded the crumbling buildings with huge flashes of lightning and fluorescent colors to emphasize the violence of God's wrath.