Week 13; Kunal.; The Garden of Earthly Delights

In my opinion, Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights is a chronological representation of what the Netherlandish master believed the fate of the world could be based on the times he was living in.

The entire piece definitely has biblical connotations, demonstrated almost immediately by the closed triptych. The outer panels depict a transparent globe being formed from darkness, with the outlines of natural features materializing out of the gloom. Aside from setting the tone of the entire piece (a religious one), the closed panels reinforces the idea that the painting is a biblical narrative. The creation of the world is chronologically the first major event in Christian mythology, and Bosch made it clear that the theme of his work will be a biblical one.

Once opened, the panels show, from left to right, Adam and Eve with God in the Garden of Eden, humanity engaging in acts of hedonism, and the suffering of the damned in Hell.

Without describing every feature in detail, the general theme of the triptych seems to depict the fate of humanity right from Adam and Eve's original sin. They are shown here being joined in union by God as animals frolic in the Garden of Eden. This frolicking gives way to a chaotic scene of excess and lust, with animals in a state of frenzy and a large number of people engaging in what seems to be a mass orgy. The sinners are given their final punishment when they are damned to suffer in hell for the rest of eternity.

Perhaps Bosch intented his painting to be a depiction of what could befall humanity if they continued to engage in the hedonism he observed during his time.

Week 13: Sarkis- Garden of Earthly Delights

There is one particular problem when examining Bosch's works: We don't know very much about his life and his ideas. This is one of the reasons why there is so much controversy over this triptych. The painting itself is of a biblical story, the story of Adam and Eve, and as many historians have proposed, it is a warning against the temtaptions of mankind. The left panel is of Adam and Eve, the center panel is basically the temptaion of man, and the right panel is of course the last judgment of God. At first glance, one can see that Bosch's work clearly had to have been inspiration to Salvador Dali, as it is very similar in style. If we are to take this approach at analysis of the work, we must consider all possiblities, and maybe none. It is possible that this is indeed a warning, but knowinhow artists work, I am personally not convinced of that. In my opinion, it is a celebration of earthly delights, not a denouncment. Not only is it a celebration, it is an exploration; a look into the phsycological acts of mankind. The last panel of jugdment is the ever continuing moral problems man faces with the belief of God. I think this last panel not only is a psychological problem of man, but possibly something that the artist was forced to display. In the time this was painted, ab outward celebration of the so-called earthly "sins" would not have been accepted, and so this last panel could have been an attempt by the artist to disguise his true meanings. This has been done throughout history in all realms of art. The truth is, there is no real understanding of this piece, and everything said, even things by "experts" are all speculation. We can never know the inner workings of an artists mind, becuase sometimes the artists themselves have no idea what they are painting.

Week 13: Jennifer L.: Garden

The garden of earthly delights is such an awesome painting! it's one of the first that is so mystical in nature. There are SO many weird things going on-even by todays standards. It reminds me a lot of a Dali painting. One of the most striking images for me is the bird thing consuming a human. I think this part of the painting is meant to represent hell, as it looks like people in the background are being tortured. The bird is eating a human and sitting on a thrown. People are being tormented by strange creatures not known to this earth. This mystic view of heaven/hell is so new and strange but REALLY amazing. The center piece of the tryptic i think shows humans engaging in sexual behaviors, even with animals. It's hard for me to just say "this painting is a warning to humans about sinful temptations" because the colors, content and figures are so beautifully depicted. Maybe it is showing how wonderful and beautiful our earth is--but we still fall under the spell of sin, all the way back to Eden. We are blessed with a magnificent earth, but still can't appreciate what God had given, the ongoing fight between good/evil on this earth. When closed, the panel shows an unfinished earth. I think this painting has a lot to do with a paradise lost--the creation of the new world on the front, and the outcome once the piece is opened. I just love this painting, I think it is extreme and monumental and introduces a new, mystic way of painting.