This triptych painting is called “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” and is by the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. The original painting was created during the early 16th century and is can currently be found in the National Museum of Prado, Madrid. This paintings similarities to Salvador Dali is what first caught my eye. However, this painting was created well before the Surrealism of the 20th century.
After reading some background on Bosch, I feel that his style is best related to that of The Reformation. Ironically enough, he belonged to a Catholic fraternity for the majority of his adult life and up to his death. This is counter-intuitive to what we know of The Reformation. A look into Bosch’s upbringing, however, will bring insight into his ever evolving critique of certain Catholic practices. He grew up in an out-of-the-way, middle class town in Holland called Den Bosch. Due to this towns seclusion from the mainstream, the towns political and social order was ever-wavering. People in this town not only took visions as truth, but they also studied astrology at the universities and believed in witches. I believe that it is these early childhood influences that gave him the outlet to multitude of imaginative creatures in his art.
In this painting, Bosch depicts creation on the left panel and hell on the right panel. In the middle are many naked people enjoying not only the ripe/rotten fruits, but also one another. Bosch was trying to depict the follies and demoralizing affects that pleasures of the flesh can bring.
