neatly sorted out. Out of all of Bosch’s known works, the most mysterious and fascinating is the triptych now known as The Garden of Earthly Delights. The painting is interesting not only because its subject is so bizarre, but also because it is so familiar: Biblical themes expressed in a completely original way without much of the familiar iconography of his time. (Belting: p.7) Although the triptych is the standard format used for Christian altarpieces, most art historians agree that The Garden
Sin and folly are two concepts that play a major role in the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch. Two of his most famous works The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Haywain Triptych both deal with sin and The Last Judgment is no exception. The significance of his use of sin and folly can be fully appreciated by examining and analyzing The Last Judgment. A very common theme in medieval and renaissance religious artwork, The Last Judgment “marks the final act of the long, turbulent history of mankind which
Dixon, Laurinda A. “Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych: Remnants of a “fossil”science.” Art Bulletin, vol. 63, no. 1, Mar. 1981, p. 96 When analyzing the symbolism of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, Laurinda Dixon takes the approach that the science of alchemy was his main focus. However, in order to fully understand how the triptych fulfills such a category, Dixon argues that one must completely forget all modern knowledge on the subject and take a fifteenth century approach