Hieronymous Bosch
The Garden of Earthly Delights
1480-1505
oil on panel
Length: 390 cm. Height: 220 cm.
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
The left panel of this painting is clearly a
paradise, while the right panel depicts torture and other hellish
characteristics. It is the center panel of The
Garden of Earthly Delights that is a topic of very contradicting
interpretations. It depicts both male and female nudes, animals, and plants.
The controversy stemming from that observation is that the depictions are not
solely realistic nor are they exclusively fantastical. The actions of the
figures are not innocent but it is debated whether they are portraying
corruption or a joyous world. The male figures are basically unaware of the
female figures and vice versa.
The question of whether it is a failure on
God’s part to control the figures is also raised. The other option being that
it is a paradise of mortal construction. There are apples is multiple places of
the center panel, indicating the paintings association with Eve and the fall of
humanity. However, an important argument against that idea is the lack of a
serpent or devil. This supports the suggestion that Bosch’s painting could be
depicting the result of no fall of humanity, as if Eve had never been tempted
and they had never been banished from the Garden of Eden. That opens the
possibility of the right panel being a depiction of the real world rather than
hell.
period
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