The Garden of earthly delights

okay so i've mentioned him a few times

already and it would be insane if i
decided not to include his work for this
video
again despite the fact that hell was not
intended to be the main theme of his
painting the image of the underworld
contained within it still remains as one
of the most famous examples of hell art
for lack of a better term for it
this is the garden of earthly delights
by hieronymus bosch honestly there are
so many singular things to discuss in
this work that it really deserves his
own video but in order to stay as on
topic as possible i will try to be
fairly brief
painted roughly in 1503 this painting
despite it looking very similar in style
to the last judgment by frat angelico
and containing equally as many religious
themes it is believed this painting was
in fact completed in devotion to the
marriage of henry iii the count of a
medieval european state that was known
as nassau breda and was displayed in the
brussels palace of the nassau family
based on this theory the painting is
believed to serve almost as a guide to a
successful marital alliance and as an
overview of both its benefits and
hazards
on the left panel we could see the
garden of eden and the characters of
adam and eve with what is believed to be
jesus christ blessing their union what i
find interesting is how adam is
stretching out his legs and feet almost
as if he's trying to touch or connect
with jesus in some way this could even
be moments after adam has first opened
his eyes on earth
the purpose of this biblical scene
according to most experts is to
symbolize the first and most pure
marriage between man and woman in
humankind
a concept that has been covered by many
other artists before and after this work
was completed
though in the context of bosch's
painting with the marital concept
mentioned earlier in mind it may be a
solemn reminder of a sinful act of lust
as according to the bible eve is
perceived as the image of temptation and
adam's gaze could indicate the first
steps towards sin
considering how emphatically religious
europeans were in those days with bosch
being a prime example of this it comes
to almost no surprise that he would
illustrate this concept for a painting
supposedly created for a successful
marital alliance
god's creations can be seen scattered
all over the painting with bosh's unique
style i always felt he had a real talent
to make his animals incredibly
expressive for not only their faces but
the way that they move and pose in the
center panel we're presented with yet
even more vibrant colors figures and
animals in huge abundance
thematically it is believed that the
central panel is meant to represent what
is known as humankind before the flood a
biblical period that was frequently
embellished by medieval writers and was
considered a highly significant period
by bosch and other citizens at the time
it is believed that many other creatures
and beings lived on earth before the
great flood including giants which may
explain the oversized fruits and objects
that we're presented with
however if we look closer bosch seems to
not hold back on illustrating sexual
themes and acts of sin
despite how harmonious and almost at one
with nature this crowd of people might
appear if we return ourselves again to
the theory that this was created to be a
so-called perfect guide to a perfect
marriage this dreamlike scene of
frolicking grazing and promiscuousness
might be observed as a playground of
corruption as an overgrowing populace of
sinful men and women before god called
on to noah to build his famous ark ahead
of a great flood that would quote
unquote cleanse the earth but since this
is a bosch painting and if it really was
created to express the nature of sin
then it wouldn't be complete without
what we are presented with in the last
and final panel on the right
this panel pretty much sums up exactly
why the garden of earthly delights is
included for today's video topic
here we are presented with the souls of
men and women who have succumbed to
their sinful temptations and are being
punished in incredibly graphic and
horrific ways and again in huge
abundance
bosch's interpretation of hell is not
only poignant and terrifying but it's
also unique and fascinatingly
imaginative it is just bursting with
detail in not only impressive realism
for the time period but also in scale
for example huge crowds of souls in the
distance are painted nearly
microscopically small yet simultaneously
sharp with detail
when i say that this painting is
imaginative i mean it quite literally in
a sense that only an artist with such a
vivid imagination could possibly
illustrate a scene like this with such
bizarre creatures and structures
one of the first things you'll probably
notice is a curious display of anatomy
and human body parts the most prominent
of this concept is in the center of a
panel in the form of an eggshell-shaped
human torso with an almost tree house
appearance and a human head and face
staring beyond the viewer within this
so-called tree man is a tavern-like
setting where souls and demons are
residing in
on top of his head demons and the dams
are dancing around a stomach in the form
of bagpipes
there has also been debate whether this
figure could in fact be a self-portrait
of bosch himself which could add a
slight sense of irony and humor in his
craft and imagination if this being the
case
by far though the most gripping aspects
of a painting for me are the horrific
and bizarre torments that bosch
illustrates all over the panel in such
detail
you'll probably notice that these souls
are naked again like in the previous
panels but there is a key difference
where before they seemed carefree about
their nudity and even seemed to
celebrate it
in the panel of hell there are examples
of these souls now covering their
intimate areas almost as if they're now
utterly ashamed of being naked
simultaneously they are being hacked cut
burned impaled and devoured
no less so than a so-called prince of
hell in the form of a monster with the
head of a bird swallowing people whole
and excreting them through a spherical
glass cavity below him and if that
wasn't bizarre enough in terms of
imagery just below the prince of hell
can be seen a female soul staring at her
own reflection via the buttocks of a
demon i don't even know where to begin
with this it's just so unorthodox and
surreal i can't help but ponder on what
exactly was going through bosh's minds
when he conceived these strange concepts
and painted them
even though this painting's true purpose
is still heavily debated like most
medieval art from his time period it
goes without saying how deeply embedded
catholicism was in europe at the time
and one of the most heavily frowned upon
sins amongst the most faithful was the
act of lust and carefree sexuality from
adam's first introduction to eve staring
at him seductively to the mass of people
embracing pleasure in the middle
right up to the almost sexually themed
punishments of hell it would not
surprise me at all if this was its
intention and i've got to say what a way
to kick-start a marriage by presenting a
painting like this saying hey yeah so
congratulations on all that but don't
get too rampant on a wedding night yeah
otherwise a giant bird with a glass
butthole is gonna guzzle you down like a
kebab praise jesus but regardless of
what this painting truly means or what
its intention is it has inspired so many
other artists musicians and writers for
generations for a reason
it is an utter masterpiece an incredible
skill amongst other artists of his style
at the time