The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490 – 1510) – Hieronymus Bosch

The Garden of Earthly Delights is an oil painting on a large oak panel by Jheronimous van Aken, more popularly known by his pseudonym, Hieronymus Bosch. Nowadays hailed as the progenitor of Surrealism, Bosch’s magnum opus, a mind-bending, tripartite vista that depicts the biblical origin of humanity, has been cited and incorporated in countless works of art, as in the music video of “Feel My Rhythm” by Red Velvet, one of K-pop’s most popular girl groups.

The Garden of Earthly Delights encompasses three oak panels that when folded, hides the painting behind a large, spherical earth. Splitting the world in two reveals a triptych consisting of a left wing, centre part and right wing, each of which are testaments to the full-force of Bosch’s virtuosic creativity, unleashed on the creation myth. The left panel portrays the first beat of the fall of mankind: Adam and Eve in paradisiacal Eden. Of particular interest to art historians is Eve’s seductive manner and expression, which many believe reflect Bosch’s theological stance on original sin as an evil that predates the eating of the apple, and has tainted Adam and Eve since their first encounter. The centre panel depicts the beautiful garden of Eden, which has been adulterated by the lust that has proliferated from Adam and Eve’s sin: atop the women’s heads are sinful cherries, symbols of pride, and the lascivious disposition and activities of the throng of naked humans saturate the painting with unbridled, raw sexual desire. The nightmarish tableau on the right panel is in stark contrast to the previous two scenes. The landscape of Eden is plunged into the darkness of night, and has become the Hellish setting for the everlasting damnation of the human hordes that have succumbed to vice, the fate of the degenerate humans in the previous panels who must now face the consequences of their fall from grace.

The Garden of Earthly Delights is arguably Bosch’s most famous painting, partly because it has been the subject of longstanding debate among art historians. Some believe that Bosch painted it as a warning to sinners, while others contend that the corruption of Eden was intended as criticism of the degeneracy of the church. Or perhaps, Bosch wished to demonstrate that the path of damnation forces humanity to wander through the houses of sin that reek with the intoxicating fumes of unchecked freedom. Regardless, the scarcity of information on Hieronymous Bosch will forever shroud the painter and the intentions behind his masterwork in mystery. The Garden of Earthly Delights is currently in the possession of Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.