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HIERONYMUS BOSCH - THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY
DELIGHTS
Hieronymus Bosch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
c. 1490–1510 |
- A triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510.
- It has resided in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain since 1939.
- Triptychs from this period were generally intended to be read sequentially, the left and right panels often portraying Eden and the Last Judgment respectively, while the main subject was contained in the centerpiece.
- Each panel was essential to the meaning of the whole.
Bosch's religious beliefs are unknown, but interpretations of the work typically assume it is a warning against the perils of temptation. Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych's central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of the paradise lost. (Wikipedia)
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Hieronymus Bosch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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- The exterior panels show the world during creation, probably on the Third Day, after the addition of plant life but before the appearance of animals and humans.
- It is not known whether The Garden was intended as an altarpiece, but the general view is that the extreme subject matter of the inner center and right panels make it unlikely that it was planned for a church or monastery.
The outer panels are generally thought to depict
the creation of the world, showing greenery beginning
to clothe the still-pristine Earth. God, wearing a
crown similar to a papal tiara (a common convention in
Netherlandish painting), is visible as a tiny figure
at the upper left. Bosch shows God as the father
sitting with a Bible on his lap, creating the Earth in
a passive manner by divine fiat. (Wikipedia)
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Joining of
Adam and Eve |
- Jesus is Phanes Protogonus the Lightbringer and
Firstbegtten.
- The left panel depicts a scene from the paradise of the Garden of Eden commonly interpreted as the moment when God presents Eve to Adam.
- The painting shows Adam waking from a deep sleep to find God holding Eve by her wrist and giving the sign of his blessing to their union.
In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the
Word was with God (Theon), and the Word was God
(Theos). He was with God (Theon) in the beginning).
Through him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)
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Pleasure-seeking |
- In contrast to Bosch's two other extant triptychs, God is absent from the central panel.
- Instead, this panel shows humanity acting with apparent free will as naked men and women engage in various pleasure-seeking activities.
- Some historians believe the three inner panels seek to
broadly convey the Old Testament notion that, before the Fall,
there was no defined boundary between good and evil; humanity
in its innocence was unaware of consequence.
Yet for us there is but one God (Theos), the
Father, from whom all things came and for whom we
live; and there is but one Lord (Kyrios), Jesus
Christ, through which all things came and through whom
we live. (1 Corinthians 8:6)
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Hellscape |
- According to some interpretations, the right-hand panel is believed to show God's penalties in a hellscape.
- The tone of this final panel strikes a harsh contrast to those preceding it.
- The scene is set at night, and the natural beauty that adorned the earlier panels is noticeably absent.
Though I know that evening's empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand, but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
(Mr.
Tambourine Man - Lyrics by
Bob Dylan, sung by the BYRDS)
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Satellite dish |
- All our modern entrapments seem to be there, but broken
down, including what appears to be computer mice and various
electronics in 1510.
- There's card games, dice and a backgammon board as well as
musical instruments like a harp and lyre and even a drum.
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This is called the music of hell played by angels, hybrid
demons and other inhabitants of hell.
The Musical Instruments in Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights Get Brought to Life, and It Turns Out That They Sound “Painful” and “Horrible.”A group of musicologists, craftspeople and academics from the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Oxford, took it upon themselves to actually build the instruments depicted in Bosch’s action-packed triptych—the hell harp, the violated lute, the grossly oversized hurdy-gurdy. (openculture.com)
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Keybox
Seattle
Space Needle |
- Bosch and his contemporaries viewed music as sinful, associating it with other sins of the flesh and spirit.
- A number of other instruments are also depicted:a shawm, a recorder, and the metal triangle being played by the woman (a nun, perhaps) who is apparently imprisoned in the keybox of the instrument.
- Bob Dylan's name backwards is Nalyd Bob (nail lid Bob) so
you see how they planned this life to cast a spell on you, and
how you can avoid them.
- We know who the Byrds
really are; Trump, Al Gore
Jr., George Jr., Pastor Bob and Terry Day Melcher.
Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering
I'm ready to go anywhere,
I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it
(Mr.
Tambourine Man - Lyrics by
Bob Dylan, sung by the BYRDS)
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What angel wakes me from my flow'ry bed?
Shakespeare, A Midsummer's Night Dream
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