"We’re all quite mad here. You’ll fit right in." - Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland
You have stumbled into the domain of an unlicensed artist.
Here, you will experience the wonders of madness in creativity.
I implore you to step inside, have a look around.
Experience creativity the way I do.
The Unlicensed Artist.
Hieronymus Bosch: Hidden Symbols
0. INTRODUCTION
As more time passes from events that happen in the past, historical art, literature and artifacts among other things are accrued, adding fragments and ideas of how human civilization has evolved over time.
Despite this, the older these artifacts are, the harder it is to understand the consciousness, worldview and culture of their time. One can only rely on records and artifacts by the contemporaries of that era.
The purpose of this essay is to better understand the worldview and culture of the Middle Ages through the lenses of Hieronymus Bosch, by studying several of his works and its interpretations.
1. HIERONYMUS BOSCH
1.1 Rumors and Myths
Strange things happen when one is limited in sources of information in determining the worldview of the Middle Ages. The lack of facts gives start to countless conspiracy theories surrounding Bosch for the vivid imaginations of art historians, for which there are no boundaries.
Some believe Bosch belonged to the Cathar Faith (Surfaced during the 11th century as a heretical form of Christianity), an idea that was greatly pushed by a popular book called, The Secret Heresy of Hieronymus Bosch.
Others believed Bosch to practice alchemy, in search of the philosopher’s stone. Symbols in several of his works proved this to be true. It was believed his works were a result of poisonous fumes that altered his state of mind during his tenure as an alchemist.
Astrological and astronomical connotations were also found in his works as astrology, astronomy, physics and mathematics in our modern understanding formed one united science during the Middle Ages.
Very little is known about Bosch’s art. The origins of symbol combinations and figures in his paintings are unknown. Additionally, many of his works originally were not given any titles and it is unknown if he bothered to name them at all. While most of the paintings were undated by the artist, carbon dating of the materials used has given art historians an approximation when his paintings were made.
1.2 What is Known?
His real name was Hieronim or Hieronymous Antonis sent van Aken who hailed from the family of van Aken, a descendant of a renowned family of artists including his brothers, uncles and father. As such, he changed his surname to Bosch to distance himself from the group of masters which were in his family. Bosch is an acronym of his hometown, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands and he was born approximately in 1450, although the exact date remains unknown.
In 1481, he married Aleyt Goyaerts van den Meerveen, a daughter of a very wealthy count who bequeathed a generous dowry. For this reason, Hieronymus Bosch did not find it necessary to please his customers with their commissions, which was uncommon for artists in those days. Bosch had the financial freedom to express his individualism, unlike his contemporaries, who had to make a living. His clients had to accept his peculiar and odd style, or they didn't order at all.
Bosch was first mentioned in 1936, in Paris and New York in the same year through an exhibition named the International Surrealist Exhibition, where his works gained notoriety.
2. OUR BLESSED LADY
The Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady was a religious confraternity founded in 1318, where members came from backgrounds ranging from high society and monks to ordinary civils. Though the brotherhood was not an enemy of the catholic church, they were skeptical of the religious institution, often criticizing the church for its greediness and corruption within the upper ranks and often debated the scripture. As a result, they were regarded as a cult by the church.
Many members within their ranks practiced a ritual that involved the serving of fried swan for dinner, at the beginning of every meeting.
Bosch, having married into a wealthy family, was given the opportunity and privilege to be part of the brotherhood with his wife, taking commissions from its members who are wealthy enough to afford them without issue.
3. NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
The Northern Renaissance is part of Dutch Art between the late 15th to early 16th century, it was a renaissance epoch that started outside Italy and it combined the interests in the classics of the Italian Renaissance and the interests of Early Christianity, which included the New Testament.
However, that was where their similarities ended.
The Northern Renaissance focused on the subject of religious regeneration, emphasizing the concept of salvation through divine grace, rather than through personal deeds, or by intervention of church bureaucracy. Scripture was brought into debate often as a result.
Italian Renaissance artworks often depicted artists’ desires for perfection, Therefore, the Northern Renaissance opposed it in its structure, approach and subjects. It took imperfection into consideration as it is eternal in human nature and magnifies it.
Take for example, The Last Judgement, by Giotto di Bondone, one of Bosch's many contemporaries.
The painting shows an image of heaven and hell. Seated at the center is Jesus, who is accompanied by apostles by his side and a court of angels seated behind him.
He observes the judgement of souls below at the end of times, for which sinners are thrown into hell and tormented by Lucifer and his demons, while others that maintained a virtuous and righteous life are allowed to pass through the doors of heaven.
The Last Judgement, Giotto di Bondone, 1305
The souls of the damned as illustrated on the right, are seen being devoured and torn apart, naked as they are all equal in the eyes of God.
The various scenes of torture, mutilation and suffering shown in the painting disproves a common belief that Bosch was the only person to paint monsters, malformed creatures mixed together and struggles of the human body and soul.
Depictions of divine punishment and hell were painted eagerly by the master of yore, because it was the only way to express themselves freely from the tight rules of iconography in painting saints and prophets.
The increased popularity in the subject of the apocalypse and end-times could be explained by several events that had happened in recent times. Europe had just recovered and come out of the dark ages of the Black Death, its occurrence being seen as a coming apocalypse and judgement from God at the time. The Hundred Year War had taken thousands of lives and caused many other conflicts to happen within the region and towards the end of the 15th century, the firearm was introduced and India was just discovered, destroying the medieval man’s conventional worldview.
The Black Death had also revealed the weakness of the Church, with people coming to the realization that clergymen had died along with the common people because of the plague. They had begun to lose faith that the Church, which was closest to God, was able to save itself from the horror of the plague. As such, trust in the Church began to dwindle.
As a result of these factors, the book of Revelations became popularized.
4. WORKS OF BOSCH
This chapter will delve into some of Bosch's more recognized works in his collection. Works that were commissioned from the Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady, other notable works and finally, works that fall under the system of the Bosch triptych (And arguably his most famous).
Through these interpretations of the scenes and activity found in his paintings using literature, folklore and proverbs from old Dutch culture, his criticisms and beliefs of the world and society are revealed.
4.1 Notable Works
4.1.1 St. John The Evangelist on Patmos
St. John the Evangelist on Patmos was a painting commissioned by the Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady that describes the story of John the Evangelist, one of the twelve apostles of Christ. He receives a revelation of the end times from the heavens in Patmos where he was exiled to, as a result of anti-Christian persecution under the Roman empire.
While it was believed that his exile to Patmos happened under emperor Nero’s rule, many biblical scholars argue otherwise that the book of revelations took place during emperor Domitian’s reign.
In the painting, Bosch paints an apparition of Mother Mary. the Archangel, Michael, and a small demon at the bottom right corner. The demon’s appearance consisting of various animal body parts, insects and people is a sort of signature of Bosch’s, making it distinct from the works of other artists. Most of the demons in Bosch’s works often come out humorous rather than terrifying compared to most artists’ depictions of demonic creatures, as Bosch believes that an evil spirit’s power is taken away when it is made fun of.
St. John the Evangelist on Patmos, 1505
Spectacles and mirrors in paintings have a double meaning in the Middle Ages because they transform. In this case, the demon seen wearing a pair of spectacles is a symbol of the desire to see, not an objective and logical reality, but an emotional, brittle, and impulsive one.
Sometimes, Bosch would leave another kind of signature by inserting his own likeness into his paintings as evil spirits or unattractive demons. He would be one of the only few artists of his time to do this as most were not allowed to do so.
A facial reconstruction of Hieronymus Bosch’s appearance, around 1550
When Bosch’s St. John the Evangelist on Patmos, is compared to the work of his contemporary, a German master. Many things could be revealed about Bosch’s work that would have previously been overlooked.
St. John the Evangelist on Patmos XV, Unknown German Artist
In both paintings, St John is seen seated down, writing his dream on paper with an eagle (A symbol of St John) next to him, perched on a book. This is as far as similarities go.
In this iteration of the evangelist and apostle of Christ, St John is depicted with a halo and older in comparison to Bosch’s version of St John. At the time of the book of Revelation’s writing, St John would have been around his 30s when he saw the apocalypse.
There are also significant differences in the landscape of both paintings. In the german painting, the artist painted what Patmos would have looked like at the time. Bosch however, painted his hometown of Hertogenbosch in the background. This is unique because most medieval artists don’t often use an image of a real location in their work. The landscape of Bosch’s painting also proved that painters of that time understood the concept of planes in art very well, showing that the concept wasn’t a discovery made by Impressionists.
4.1.2 Ship of Fools
In this commissioned painting of Bosch’s, the Brotherhood’s opinions of the Catholic Church are as clear as day once the painting is interpreted.
Bosch's artwork is a response to a satirical book, written by Sebastian Brant of the same name, Das Narrenschiff, 1493. The book touched on all possible human sins, flaws and vices, the worst one of which was stupidity, since the one who had it, couldn’t understand it.
The ship in the painting is an allegory of human life, which is viewed as a risky voyage. At the same time, the medieval aesthetics of the ship is uniquely associated with the Church, hearkening back to Noah’s Ark in the bible.
However, it appears that it will be a long time before the ship would be able to set sail, as it spotted in deadwater, unmoving, evident from the mast of the boat being replaced by a tree.
Ship of Fools, 1490-1500
Among the crowd of ten is a monk and nun singing to music and playing a musical instrument, which during medieval times, was interpreted as a prelude to lovemaking or adultery, above a table cherry – the symbol of voluptuousness.
A steerman – another symbol of the church, is seen looking over the boat and into the water, completely oblivious to the fish hanging in front of him which represented Christ (Based on the story of the multiplying of twelve loaves of bread and two fish). All ten passengers on board are seemingly ignoring their surroundings as well, not seeing God in front of them.
The clerics being painted into the ship was Bosch’s way of saying that even clergymen were no different than common people, capable of making mistakes and falling into sin. Doubting the catholic church’s ability to guide humanity to glory and eternal heaven.
Above the ten ‘fools’ is an owl, a bird of the night symbolized as the devil, hidden in the tree, looking down amongst the people under the influence of sin. Other interpretations suggest that it might be a skull of Adam, the first man, hidden among maple leaves (Known interpretation for heresy) instead, suggesting physical and spiritual death. An unfortunate reality for the ten souls on-board.
Through this painting, it is known that Bosch has an immense dislike for the catholic church, remaining critical about the institution.
4.1.3 Cutting the Stone / The Extraction of the Stone of Folly
Around the Tondo (from the Ital. rotondo – circle) is an ornamental inscription left behind by Bosch on the top and bottom of the work that reads, “Master, remove the stones. My name is Lubbert das.”
Lubbert das was likely a reference to a comical character in Dutch literature which made the name, Lubbert, synonymous for foolishness and stupidity.
This reference to the character was thus believed to be an inspiration for the creation of this painting.
Cutting The Stone / The Extraction of The Stone of Folly, 1500 - 1520
The artwork captures an elderly white-haired man being operated on by a ‘surgeon’ in a pink robe. Bosch’s juxtaposition is seen in the painting with the funnel appearing on the head of the surgeon, suggesting manipulation and deceit due to its resemblance to wizard/witch headdresses. The depiction of the ‘surgeon’ in the painting can be explained, as the cusp of the 15th and 16th century saw a rise of many fake doctors who promised to heal anything such as love sickness and stupidity, if people would utilize their services.
A monk and a nun also participate in this deceit, assisting the ‘surgeon’ with the procedure. The inclusion of the monk and nun is telling of Bosch’s criticism of the Church and his moral impartiality, by suggesting that some clergymen among their ranks are deceivers and corrupt under the guise of holiness.
The operation being conducted on the elderly man by the ‘surgeon’ is a reference to an Dutch folk story in the medieval age, where people believed that intellectual development is affected by the presence of head-stones and only by the removal of those stones from lobotomy, will wisdom be attained.
The use of tulips in the painting as one is being extracted from the eldery man’s head and the other laying on a table instead of stones might simply be Bosch’s use of juxtaposition of objects in impossible situations. But others hypothesized that the word, tulpe, in the old Dutch dictionaries had the connotation associated with stupidity. Tulips, known for its high value at the time, was seen as ‘easy money’ in this painting’s context. With the ‘surgeon’ extracting ‘money’ out of the elderly man.
The themes of foolishness as a main focus in the painting may be Bosch’s commentary and criticism of humanity and its flaws, similar to Ship of Fools. The elderly man’s stupid credulity has costed him a fortune from the manipulation and lies of the swindler. The attendance of the monk and nun aiding the scammer paints the Church in a very bad light with the implication that they’re just as foolishly gullible as the man, or they are in on the deceit.
4.1.4 Christ Carrying the Cross
Christ Carrying the Cross, Unknown Follower of Hieronymus Bosch, 1510
The painting consists of a portrait of Jesus Christ carrying a cross while being surrounded by other men that all appear to have grotesque and bizarre expressions on them. These distorted and ugly expressions indicate our imperfect, flawed, shameful and sinful humanity, as they surround a woeful Christ.
Another detail that can be spotted is that there are only two characters with eyes visibly closed, who are Jesus and St Veronica. Some speculate that the reason for their closed eyes was to shield themselves from witnessing the evil and sins of men.
In October of 2015, the Bosch Research and Conservation Project, which has been working on the research of Bosch's work, confirmed that although Christ Carrying the Cross was made in the same era as Hieronymus Bosch, they rejected the idea that it was painted by him. Instead, considering it to be painted by a follower.
4.1.5 The Path of Life (The Haywain)
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The Path of Life (The Haywain Triptych), 1515
The Haywain Triptych is one of the most influential works of the Northern Renaissance and perhaps one of the most important paintings in Bosch’s tenure as an artist. Focusing on the subject of sin and its consequences featuring three panels: Heaven, Earth and Hell.
The outside shutters of the panel features another painting called The Path of Life, featuring what seems to be a pilgrim, walking the path of life and making decisions on Earth that would ultimately dictate if he is redeemed into heaven or damned into hell. A prelude to The Haywain triptych.
This painting is neither positive nor negative in its nature due to how its interpretations can be conflicting. The pilgrim could be depicted as a positive force since he is often associated with Christ or with a wandering soul.
On the contrary, the pilgrim could be interpreted as a chapman, wandering from one place to another. The negative connotations surrounding a chapman is due to their unfavorable reputation in the medieval ages, often overestimating the quality of their goods and wares, overpricing these items and thus, be seen as cheaters and deceivers.
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The use of the pilgrim in this painting would also suggest that the man is carrying his soul on his back, inside his box. Therefore, acknowledging the artwork’s title of the pilgrim walking The Path of Life. There is also evidence of struggle and weariness in pilgrim during his travels from the torn hole in his pants at the knee.
Other symbolic interpretations include the presence of a dog, donning an intimidating spiked collar, symbolizing the presence of a demon, as dogs were regarded as one of many unclean animals in scripture. At the same time, medieval culture and language at the time were limited that the name of Lucifer was not formed yet. As such, people used the word dog to describe Lucifer instead.
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Two memento moris are left in the painting nearby the dog and the pilgrim, two crows that gather among the skeletal remains of a long deceased animal, and the gallows spotted in the background, as an indicator and reminder of fleeting life and the inevitability of death at the end of the path of life, of which judgement of the soul comes next. Perhaps a warning to viewers of the fragility of life and how one should aim to be virtuous in the event of sudden or eventual death.
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As the pilgrim journeys to the end of the path of life towards divine judgement, several heinous sinful acts could be spotted in the background. A group of three men have seemingly robbed an individual of his personal belongings and tied him up to a tree. Whilst a trio of shepherds are seen loitering around without doing their jobs at tending the sheep, two of which are frolicking in the field while one sits down by a tree, playing his bagpipe. The playing of a musical instrument, especially a bagpipe (For it’s phallic appearance) is often a symbol for lust in medieval art. The use of shepherds could be a reference to the Bible due to the vocation’s significance in the scripture and its responsibilities.
Through these observations, the pilgrim appears to be the protagonist in Bosch’s painting from struggling to maintain on the path of life into heaven. Fighting the temptations of sin that is all around him and trying to pull him astray.
4.1.6 The Wayfarer / Wanderer (Prodigal Son)
The Wayfarer / Wanderer (Prodigal Son), 1500
The Path of Life painting bears a similar resemblance to another early work of Bosch’s about fifteen years prior called The Wayfarer. Despite the different landscape, the story behind the painting is not so different from The Path of Life.
In this painting, the pilgrim is seen on his travels, having run into a crossroad of sorts and facing an inner struggle to choose between the path of virtue to the right, or debauchery in the house to the left. Putting him in the position of the prodigal son.
However, unlike the pilgrim from The Path of Life, he has already sinned.
The prodigal son is seen carrying a straw box, hinting at hardship, also signifying his journey in a weary world as he carries his soul on his back. Attached to the straw box is a large spoon and cat skin, which are symbols of vice. Furthermore, medieval culture shows that the presence of cat skin suggested shameful punishment.
This is evident from his bandaged legged, which at the time, was a symbol for debauchery. The bandaged legged could have also been caused by the dog (devil) lurking behind him, wearing a familiar-looking collar.
The prodigal son is also seen wearing a shoe and sandals at the same time, indicating promiscuity, based on old Dutch proverbs from the medieval age.
Above and hidden in the trees is an owl that is perched above the prodigal son. Being another symbol for evil and death, closely monitors him in his inner struggle.
These symbols that surround the individual are telling signs that he has been influenced by the temptations and have been living a life indulging in it.
The prodigal son appears to have an interest in the direction of a tavern to the left of the painting. The tavern, in its abhorrent condition, might have been Bosch’s way of conveying the depraving, filthy and brutal refuge that it offers. The torn roof, broken windows, shameless display of kissing between two people and the public defecation of a man at the side being a deviation from what a healthy, righteous livelihood is.
In typical Bosch fashion, a pitcher is once again seen in an unorthodox location and situation, finding itself atop the roof of the tavern, also symbolic for “vessel of sin”. Describing the tavern as a place of sinners.
On the right of the painting, Bosch shows that the route of righteousness and virtue is through the gate. This is because the oxen is a major significant symbol of Christ in the Bible, being one of the “four faces of God”, man, eagle, ox and lion.
4.1.7 The Seven Deadly Sins and The Four Last Things
The Seven Deadly Sins and The Four Last Things, 1480
This fascinating piece of art is debated between scholars and historians about its creator. While the Bosch Research and Conservation Project reject the artwork’s attribution to Bosch and suggesting it had been a follower who painted it, scholars at the Prado Museum, where the art piece is housed, argues that it was painted by Bosch himself.
Above and below the Tondo are Latin inscriptions of Deuteronomy 32:28-29 reading, “For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.”, above and, “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end.” below.
The Tondo in the middle, depict the seven deadly sins as written in the Christian theology, whilst the other four smaller circles surrounding it show the journey of a soul after the death of the flesh, with its journey ending either in heaven or hell. The use of the Tondo represents the endless and destructive cycle of sin, life and death.
Ira (Wrath)
In this part of the Tondo, two men are depicted in a physical altercation, one of which has a chair on top of his head, while the other wields a sword in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, hinting to their drunken stupor. The reason for this altercation seems to be over a woman due to a pair of messily aligned shoes. In medieval culture, shoes that are neatly arranged in paintings usually depict a happy and stable family, while messily arranged shoes suggest the opposite. Thus in this case, the sin of adultery is at play in this panel, leading to the sin of wrath.
In this panel, a lady is seen observing herself in front of a mirror held by a demon. In the background, her husband is also distracted with the mirror. The presence of a mouse in the other room of their house might suggest that they are too distracted by the mirrors to neither care for the condition of their house, nor see to their household business.
At first sight, it might appear to be an illustration for gluttony, seeing how every character in the panel seems to be reveling in indulgence. However, the presence of musical instruments would suggest otherwise.
Gluttony is often associated with the wealthy, but in the panel, Bosch decided to portray gluttony in a family of peasants, evident by their clothes and small living space. Examples of gluttony are shown by the excessive drinking behavior displayed by the man in the right, as well as an obese man and child who are both fighting over food, and finally, the mother of the house enabling this behavior by bringing in a whole chicken despite adequate food already laid out on the dinner table. The panel shows that even the youngest and poorest of men are susceptible to sinful behavior and habits.
Superbia (Pride)
Luxuria (Lust)
Gula (Gluttony)
In all four corners of the painting, the four Last Things are listed by Bosch that details the journey the soul of a human takes after death. Starting with the Death of a Sinner, the Last Judgement and ending either in Heaven or Hell.
Death of a Sinner
In the Death of a Sinner, Death can be seen lurking behind the bed of a man nearing his time. The group of people consisting of a monk, priest, nun and two other aides, surrounds him, praying for the salvation of his soul as an angel and devil looms above him.
Hell
The Last Judgement
In The Last Judgement, the souls of the dead can be spotted roaming what looks to be the land of limbo as Jesus, accompanied by his apostles and angels descend to judge these souls, all of who are naked, which suggests equality under the eyes of God.
Heaven
The fates of these judged souls are eventually shown in the remaining two circles, Heaven, which Bosch has designed to resemble a Gothic church, or Hell, appearing to look like a deserted and war-torn land of suffering and torment.
An incredibly notable and fascinating detail that can be spotted in the Heaven panel is that a demon in the left corner appears to be attempting to drag a soul from Heaven into Hell. Perhaps a personal belief of Bosch's that even after judgement, expulsion from Heaven is a possibility by falling for sinful temptation, due to what had happened with Lucifer.
5. THE SYSTEM OF THE BOSCH TRIPTYCH
The use of the triptych form arose in early Christian art and remained a popular format of art during the Middle Ages. The reason for its popularity was its ease of transport, some of which involved collapsible panels. It also provided narrative flexibility.
The triptych can form one continuous piece of art, and when separated, each piece of the triptych could be its standalone narrative. Renaissance painters such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch were some of many well known artists who used that form in their work.
Three triptychs in Bosch’s career as a painter remained one of his most influential and well-known works. Known as the Bosch Triptych, these paintings consisted of the following panels from left to right, which detailed Heaven, Earth and Hell. Often telling the story of Adam and Eve's inception in the left panel, the creation of the world in the center panel, and finally the Last Judgement or Hell in the right panel.
These paintings are: The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Last Judgement and The Haywain.
5.1 The Haywain
The Haywain, 1515
The Haywain Triptych displays the aftermath of humanity caused by the sin of greed, one of two sins that are commonly seen in Bosch’s paintings, the latter being lust. The common depictions of these two sins in his works are very telling signs of Bosch’s worldview on humanity and his criticisms of society.
5.1.1 Genesis
The left panel of the triptych, is a depiction of Paradise, or the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis, detailing the fall of Lucifer, the creation of Adam and Eve, the serpent’s deception, and finally, their expulsion from the Garden of Eden as they're being chased out by a Cherub armed with a flaming sword to guard the entrance to the garden.
A detail to take note of in the left panel is the expulsion of the rebel angels from heaven. If one looks close enough, the angels that are being cast down gradually take on a different, beastly appearance. Maintaining Bosch’s style of the fallen angels appearing more humorous than ghastly, consisting of different animal body parts.
According to the Middle Age re-telling of the Genesis story, the serpent appeared to have taken Eve’s likeness when deceiving both Adam and Eve, hinting that Eve had committed the sin of vanity. She refused to listen to her Father’s cautionary advice, only trusting her desires.
5.1.2 The Haywain
In this panel, Bosch illustrates humanity being dragged along by worldly desires and sin after the fall of Adam and Eve. The presence of a large wagon of hay, or haywain, is an illustration of the Bible verse, Isaiah 40:6, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field,” which refers to the temporary and decaying nature of all material goods. It also references a Flemish proverb which runs: The world is like a haywain and each man takes what he can.
The haywain is also a representation of worldly luxuries, resources and riches.
Both holy and evil are looking down upon humanity, as represented by Jesus Christ from above the heavens as all that is holy and righteous, and the looming owl, hidden by the trees as evil. The painting portrays a battle of sorts, for the souls of humanity through the contrasting appearance of holy and evil.
This contrast can also be spotted just below the tree where the owl is perched, with a group of people engaging in sinful acts, the use of musical instruments pointing at fornication. At the left and right of the group is an angel praying towards Jesus Christ for their redemption, while the demon beside them dances and plays a magical instrument, influencing them and encouraging them to indulge themselves in sin.
Around the haywain are people of different classes of society from the emperor, to the common people, attempting to grab a handful of hay for themselves, including the clergy, who are criticized for their vices such as avarice and lust. Furthermore, these people will not stop at nothing to get more hay, resorting to acts of violence and aggressiveness against each other.
In the meantime, daily life is seen taking place in the foreground, with women looking after their children and going about their day, without much care for the chaos that is happening behind them.
In contrast, the figures that are trying to get on the wagon and obtain as much hay for themselves as they can through any means necessary, fail to notice the demonic creatures driving it who are leading them into Hell.
Bosch is showing the eternal damnation of the soul through the pursuit of earthly possessions and physical pleasure (by the act of grabbing hay).
5.1.3 Hellspire
In the final panel of Bosch’s triptych, he presents a hellspire in an infernal landscape. The almost eerily accurate resemblance to a fiery landscape behind the hellspire was a result of Bosch witnessing a catastrophic fire in his hometown around the age of 15 in 1463, the fire claiming one-third of his Hertogenbosch.
Besides the torture and torment of sinner’s souls in this panel, the demons have appeared to force some of these souls into manual labor, making them contribute into building some sort of tower to reach the heavens above. Though it is unknown what its true purpose is, or why Bosch had painted it in.
5.2 The Last Judgement
The Last Judgement, 1500
Like most of Bosch’s triptychs, The Last Judgement displays Heaven, Earth and Hell from left to right in its 3 separate panels. However, this painting’s representation of Earth appears to differ greatly from other triptychs Bosch had painted. Bosch’s representation of Earth in the painting chronicles events of the Book of Revelation. Depicting the Earth having turned into a hellscape.
5.2.1 Paradise
The left panel details the Fall of Lucifer and the Fall of Man. God is seen surrounded by a halo at the upper half of the panel while a host of angels are seen tumbling from Heaven on Earth from the darkened clouds. Some angels are painted white, others that are cast out being black as they slowly transform into devils.
The story of Adam and Eve are told in multiplexed scenes, told from front to back starting from Eve’s creation, Man’s fall from grace and their exile from the Garden of Eden, depicted with a Cherubim chasing Adam and Eve out with a sword.
5.2.2 Apocalypse
The center panel shows a scorched Earth completely overrun by demons, with a landscape filled with torment and mutilation amongst the destruction and fire. Above the scorched Earth presides Jesus Christ, surrounded by his apostles and saints and four angels, having declared the end times through the sounding of their trumpets.
The foreground of the painting shows a myriad of scenes of impalement, torture and suffering which are carried out by grotesque demons on naked men and women. The demons are making use of new inventions in excruciation which were developed in the beginning of the 16th century. Some examples include a hell-smith shoeing its prey whilst others wait their turn by the side of the furnace.
Demons can also be spotted force-feeding a human male an unknown liquid from a barrel and filling his stomach. A punishment for his gluttonous lifestyle.
5.2.3 Hell
The right panel is designed similarly to the center panel, where torment and torture of naked figures in the foreground can be seen, receding to the hellscape of destruction, sulfur and fire in the background.
The demons in this panel appear to be even more glaring in form and color. One shoots arrows at a naked figure as target practice, while other figures are impaled by swords.
In the middle of the panel stands a tower, which has a round medieval canopy pitched on top of it. Below it stands Satan at the entrance of the tower, collecting the souls of the damned.
5.3 The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490 - 1510
A noticeable difference in this iconic triptych is the omission of the Fall of Lucifer and the rebel angels in the ‘Genesis’ panel (Left side) of the triptych, one plausible explanation for this omission might be that the stylistic approach might not have been discovered by Bosch at the time of its creation.
Another noticeable contrast to Bosch’s other triptychs (The Last Judgement, and The Haywain), God is absent from the central panel. This absence could have been interpreted as humanity’s tendencies to engage and seek sinful activities of fleshly pleasure without the guidance of God, of their own freewill.
The sin of lust in sexual indulgences is apparent in this painting, serving as an admonition of worldly fleshly indulgences and also as a caution on the dangers of sinful temptation and the punishment that follows for its indulgence. Other interpretations of this painting also suggested the painting as an imagery of sexual pleasure at its peak.
The complexity of the symbolism in the central panel of the triptych has led to a wide variety of interpretations amongst historians and scholars, one suggesting that the triptych served as a moral warning, while the other as an image of a forgotten paradise.
5.3.1 The Joining of Adam and Eve
Unlike the two above-mentioned triptychs in this chapter, the use of multiplexed scenes to depict the story of Adam and Eve is not seen in this panel of The Garden of Earthly Delights, indicating a difference in stylistic approach that Bosch utilized during the process of the paintings creation.
The representation of Adam and Eve’s first meeting is believed by art historians to be more sexual in nature due to the elements of their body languages upon first contact.
Charles de Tolnay believed that Adam’s lustful gaze towards Eve’s beauty shows the fading influence God has over the Earth. This idea was reinforced by the disappearance of any heavenly beings in the other panels.
American art historian Walter S. Gibson says that the aversion of Eve’s eyes towards Adam’s gaze could symbolize a presentation of her beauty towards the First Man. His expression of amazement and awe could be in reference to three elements:
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The awe and fear at the holy presence of God.
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A reaction towards the knowledge that although Eve is anatomically and physically different, she possesses the same nature as himself, and has been created from his own body.
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The intensity of Adam’s gaze concludes that he is experiencing physical attraction and primal urge to be ‘fruitful’.
The presence of rabbits to the right of Eve is a symbolism of fertility, which further solidifies the idea that Bosch chose to represent Adam and Eve’s first meeting as sexual in nature.
According to art historian Virginia Tuttle, the panel is “highly unconventional [and] cannot be identified as any of the events from the Book of Genesis traditionally depicted in Western art". Some images within the painting of the Garden of Eden contradict the innocence that is expected in the story of Adam and Eve. The depiction of animals devouring each other already indicates the influence and presence of sin and evil.
These signs that Bosch leaves in the panel enforces his cynical and pessimistic belief that humanity was doomed from the start of their creation.
5.3.2 Earthly Delights
A large number of nude groups of people are painted in the central panel, maintaining in amorous relations and engaging in erotic activities that refers to the panel’s theme of the sin of lust. Among these people, animals, fruits and vegetation of disproportionate scales are seen scattered about in the painting. Among them are two entities of evil that are often seen in Bosch’s paintings, the owls.
The increased appearance of birds in the central panel in comparison to the other panels is an important detail and reference to the overarching theme of lust. In the Dutch language, ‘vogelen’ is a word for sexual intercourse, of which ‘vogel’ means bird.
The exaggerated sizes of berries that are seen being devoured and eaten by people at the lower half of the panel symbolized empty pleasures during the Middle Ages, because they were regarded as food that did not delay hunger. The gigantic sizes of the berries represented humanity’s over-indulgence of carnal pleasures.
Another example of scenes that refer back to the overarching theme of lust can be observed with this couple that is seated in a glass bubble of sorts, floating on a body of water amongst other people that are involved in their own acts of indulgence, shielded from outside influence. Cracks can be seen on the glass bubble however, as the couple is beginning to give into temptations of lust from the intimate tension.
Several structures seen in the background of the painting bear striking resemblance to the paradise spring seen in the Garden of Eden in the left panel. From this, one could deduce that these structures were man-made, an attempt that represented man’s desire to create his own heaven and be like God, referencing the story of the Tower of Babel.
5.3.3 Musical Hell
Bosch’s depiction of Hell in the Garden of Earthly Delights is arguably one of the most surreal and striking of all the other representations. Often referred to as Musical Hell from the significant use of musical instruments used to torture the souls of the damned, at the same time symbolizing sexual sin. Yet despite this reference to the theme, this scene of Hell remains just, meting out punishment for all the Cardinal Sins.
A good example of this can be observed from the punishment carried out to those found guilty of avarice where an anthropomorphic bird resembling an owl is seated on a child’s lavatory stool, devouring souls and immediately expelling them through its anus and into a dark claustrophobic pit for waste.
Souls that are found guilty of envy and jealousy are punished by being immersed in frozen waters naked.
Other punishments and torture were meted based on the vices that faced more disapproval by society at the time, that included social classes such as the clergy of the Catholic Church, who were criticized heavily during the late 15th to early 16th century. This is reflected in a scene of a swine wearing a nun’s veil embracing a naked man.
As horrifying as these depictions of torture and torment were, some noticeable and oddly humorous scenes of punishment are observed being practiced near the giant musical instruments that gave the panel its infamous name. In this fragment of the panel from left to right, one could spot an unfortunate man having harp strings run through his flesh. Just below him is a frog-like demon seemingly tattooing a musical sheet onto his buttocks. On the right of the fragment, a man sodomized by a flute is forced to carry an enlarged trumpet whilst another is forced into a drum.
A noticeably interesting and an important part of the painting is what most art historians call the Tree Man. Gluttons and the sin of gluttony are referred to from the scene of the tavern located inside the Tree Man, in which naked people seated around a table are served toads and other repulsive things by demons.
The Tree Man’s face was widely believed to have been a self-portrait of Bosch, due to its likeness to other posthumous portraits of the artist. There is too little information to understand Bosch’s intent for the insertion of his self-portrait, but many suspect it to be one of Bosch’s many ‘signatures’.
The dead trees serve as ‘legs’ for the Tree Man, standing afloat on river boats, which might be referencing an old Dutch proverb, “To walk like a sailing boat”, which meant that one was unable to walk properly due to their immense drunkenness. As such, a conclusion can be drawn that Bosch was alluding to his own alcoholism, which is a sin. This might be an explanation to his insertion of his self-portrait in the Musical Hell. Perhaps it is a confession of his own sins and an acceptance of his flawed being?
6. CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS
It is the assumption that Bosch was able to channel his world view about the society he lived, challenging and criticizing bodies of power that had great influence in the politics and governance of Europe. While he largely managed to avoid persecution by the Holy Inquisition during his life, they remembered all types of heresy in regards to his work, hiding or destroying most of his paintings, leaving only a few pieces that existing today, 25 to 30 of which are proved to be made by him, while others being studied remain unconfirmed.
6.1 What Makes Hieronymus Bosch Fascinating?
Despite the complete lack of information about this artist, much less any recorded history of his past. His works have continued to influence many world-known masters such as Salvador Dali.
The essay covers and attempts to interpret the culture and mindset of the Middle Ages through Bosch's depictions of folklore and superstition though visual means. Yet it barely scratches the surface of what makes his artworks truly distinctive.
The morbid, nightmarish scenes of torture and death that fill up his apocalyptic visions of Hell and Earth are unsettling, yet the comical designs of its demonic inhabitants perfectly balance the intensity of the composition, and shape the way we visualize hell.
The words of art historian and early-Netherlandish specialist, Erwin Panofsky, perfectly encompass the aura of wonder and mystery that continually surround Bosch's art, “I cannot help feeling, that the real secret of his magnificent nightmares and daydreams has still to be disclosed.”
These works, though painted almost five centuries ago, could still seem contemporary in its surrealism and resist interpretation by art historians and scholars with an advanced understanding of medieval Dutch mysticism and symbolism, drawing a multitude of theories over its characters and their unorthodox behaviors.
The world of Bosch exists as a mesh of imagination and reality. People transform into animals, other animals meld together to form a perverted distortion that is demons, boundaries between logic and reality fall apart and differences in scale are ignored. Forms are fluid in Bosch's reality.
These ridiculous manifestations could have perhaps been Bosch's visualization of humanity, existing in a plane where only the eyes of artists as mad as Bosch could see.