Hieronymus Bosch
1450- 1516
About Bosch
The Garden of Earthly Delights
The significance of this masterpiece is in the symbolism. Everything in the painting is a symbol, down to the giant strawberry representing "transient natures and earthly pleasures" (Alberti 1). While no new techniques were used, it is different from other Renaissance paintings in that there were creatures neither Christian or Pagan; just fantasy. With these unethical beings, the painting is still considered to be very religious, showing the Garden of Eden into our progression to hell.
I find this painting to be interesting because of the intricate detail and symbolism of every aspect. The magical creatures seem almost Doctor Seuss like, or in the realm of Alice and Wonderland. However, if you look more closely, everything is twisted into horror to show a steep decline into our ultimate and inescapable fate of damnation. The madness of all of this is amazing and beautiful.
The "ism" that is most prominent in this painting is humanism, but only some very specific aspects of it. It shows human relationships, interacting and loving each other all in their truest and purest form. It shows progression, how we went from almost nothing in Eden to an insanely functioning world. However, this picture is also a very religious painting, stepping away from it's humanistic side.
Works Cited
Alberti. “Alberti’s window.” Blogspot. 9 July 2011.
Bosch, Hieronymus. The Garden of Earthly Delights. 1504. Museo Del Prado, Madrid, Spain.
Artstor. Artstor. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Chadwick, Whitney. “Garden of Earthly Delights.” World art. Annenberg Learner, 2006.
Hickson, Sally. “Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights.” Khan Academy. Khan Academy, n.d.
"Hieronymus Bosch." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.