Guide to Bosch's painting "Garden of Earthly Delights".

Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" is the most incredible painting of the Middle Ages. It is saturated with symbols that are incomprehensible to modern man. What do all these giant birds and berries, monsters and fabulous animals mean? Where is the most slutty couple hiding? And what kind of notes are painted on the ass of a sinner?

Look for answers in the articles:

Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. What is the meaning of the most fantastic picture of the Middle Ages.

"7 of the most incredible mysteries of the painting" Garden of Earthly Delights "by Bosch."

Top 5 mysteries of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

site “Diary of painting. In each picture there is a story, a fate, a mystery.”

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When you first look at one of Bosch's most enigmatic paintings, you rather have mixed feelings: it attracts and fascinates with an accumulation of a large number of unusual details. At the same time, it is impossible to understand the meaning of this accumulation of details both in aggregate and separately.

There is nothing surprising in such an impression: most of the details are saturated with symbols that are not known to modern man. Only Bosch's contemporaries could solve this artistic puzzle.

Let's try and figure it out. Let's start with the general meaning of the picture. It consists of four parts.

Closed doors of a triptych. world creation

The first part (closed doors of the triptych). According to the first version - the image of the third day of the creation of the world. There are no humans and animals on earth yet, rocks and trees have just appeared from the water. The second version is the end of our world, after the universal flood. In the upper left corner is God contemplating his creation.

Left wing of the triptych. Paradise

Second part (left wing of the triptych). Image of a scene in Paradise. God shows the surprised Adam Eve, just created from his rib. Around - recently created by God animals. In the background is the Fountain and the lake of life, from which the first creatures of our world emerge.

The central part of the triptych. The Garden of Earthly Delights

The third part (the central part of the triptych). An image of the earthly life of people who massively indulge in the sin of voluptuousness. The artist shows that the fall is so serious that people cannot get out on a more righteous path. He conveys this idea to us with the help of a kind of procession in a circle:

People on various animals move around the lake of carnal pleasures, unable to choose another path. Therefore, according to the artist, their only destiny after death is Hell, which is depicted on the right wing of the triptych.

Right wing of the triptych. Hell

Fourth part (right wing of the triptych). An image of hell in which sinners experience eternal torment. In the middle of the picture - a strange creature from a hollow egg, with legs in the form of tree trunks with a human face - presumably this is a guide to Hell, the main demon. For the torment of which sinners he is responsible, read the article “The main monsters of the Bosch painting”.

This is the general meaning of the warning picture. The artist shows us how easy it is to fall into sin and end up in Hell, despite the fact that once humanity was born in Paradise.

Bosch painting symbols

Why on picture so many characters and symbols?

I really like Hans Belting's theory on this, put forward in 2002. Based on his research, Bosch did not create this painting for a church, but for a private collection. Allegedly, the artist had an agreement with the buyer that he would intentionally create a rebus painting. The future owner intended to entertain his guests, who would guess the meaning of this or that scene in the picture.

In the same way, we can now unravel the fragments of the picture. However, without understanding the symbols adopted in Bosch's time, it is very difficult for us to do this. Let's deal with at least some of them, so that it would be more interesting to “read” the picture.

On the central part of Bosch's triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights" there are a large number of berries of enormous size. In the Middle Ages, berries were a symbol of voluptuousness, which is why there are so many of them in the central part. Indeed, according to Bosch's idea, it depicts the fall of people during earthly life.

Read more about the painting in the articles:

"The most fantastic picture of the Middle Ages: Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights."

"7 Incredible Mysteries of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights".

site “Painting nearby: about paintings and museums is easy and interesting”.

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In the central part of the Garden of Earthly Delights triptych, naked people hold berries, eat them or feed others with them. In the Middle Ages, berries denoted sinful voluptuousness, which is why there are so many of them in the picture.

Read more about the painting in the articles:

"What is the meaning of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights?"

Bosch's 7 Most Incredible Mysteries of The Garden of Earthly Delights.

site “Diary of painting. In each picture there is a story, a fate, a mystery.”

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Eating “voluptuous” berries and fruits is one of the main symbols of lust. That is why there are so many of them in the Garden of Earthly Delights.

On the central part of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights triptych, we see a couple in a glass sphere. And the glass is riddled with cracks. What did the artist mean by this? That the happiness of lovers is short-lived?

Read more about the painting in the articles:

“What is the meaning of the most mysterious painting of the Middle Ages, “Garden of Earthly Delights” by Bosch?”

"7 Incredible Mysteries of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights".

site “Painting nearby: about paintings and museums is easy and interesting”.

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On the central part of the triptych "Garden of Earthly Delights" we see three people covered with one glass dome. Perhaps these are the spouses and the wife's lover, who sort things out. What then does the dome mean? The fragility of the marriage of spouses due to infidelity?

Read more about the painting in the articles:

“What is the meaning of the most fantastic picture of the Middle Ages?”

"7 Incredible Mysteries of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights".

site “Painting nearby: about paintings and museums is easy and interesting”.

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People are in glass spheres or under a glass dome. There is a Dutch proverb that says that love is as short-lived and fragile as glass. The depicted spheres are just covered with cracks. Perhaps the artist sees in this fragility also the path to the fall, since adultery is inevitable after a short period of love.

Sins of the Middle Ages

It is also difficult for a modern person to interpret the depicted torments of sinners (on the right wing of the triptych). The fact is that in our minds, passion for idle music or stinginess (thrift) are not perceived as something bad, in contrast to how people in the Middle Ages perceived it.

Some sinners experience torment from those instruments, playing on which during their lifetime, they received sinful pleasure.

On the right wing of the triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” we see a demon with a bird’s head in a bowler hat and pitcher legs. He devours sinners and immediately defecates them. He sits on a chair for a bowel movement. Only noble people could afford such chairs.

Read more about the monster in the article “The main monsters of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights”

Also read about Bosch in the articles:

"What is the meaning of the most fantastic picture of the Middle Ages."

Bosch's 7 Most Incredible Mysteries of The Garden of Earthly Delights.

site “Painting nearby: about paintings and museums is easy and interesting”.

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In this fragment we see the torment of three sinners. The miser is forced to forever defecate with coins, the glutton is forced to experience eternal vomiting, and the proud person has to endure the harassment of a demon with a donkey's head and endlessly look in the mirror on the body of another representative of evil spirits.

To be continued

There are many large birds in Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. The fact is that in the Middle Ages they were a symbol of depravity and lust. The hoopoe was also associated with sewage, as it often swarms in manure with its long beak.

Read more about this in the article “7 Incredible Mysteries of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights”.

site “Diary of painting. In each picture there is a story, a fate, a mystery.”

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What do you think the birds in the Bosch painting symbolize? 

You can find the answer in the continuation - the article Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. 7 most incredible mysteries of the picture.

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