Week 13: Mariel Camiling: Garden of Earthly Delights

Bosch's triptych is an amazing piece of art. When folded closed, the exterior shows the world during its creation with a small figure of God on the upper left corner. When opened, there are 3 different scenes that can be read chronologically through time. The left hand panel shows God presenting Eve to Adam in a very peaceful garden with animals throughout. The second panel contains a chaotic scene with groups of men and women engaging in sexual activities among animals and exceptionally large fruits in the Garden. These fruits , such as the strawberry, are associated with sexuality and emphasize the focus on lust in the middle panel. The panel on the right has a large contrast in comparison to the other 2 panels because it shows a completely different scene with several figures being tormented in a burning Hell. Since Bosch was a radical Christian, he depicted the consequences of sin in a very extreme way. The figures in the middle panel appear to be having a great time as if they are in a huge playground. However, since they gave into temptation, there are consequences to engaging in sinful activities and they ended up in Hell. This work of art teaches the lesson that Christians are not supposed to commit sins, especially lust, which is one of the 7 major sins.