Bosch, the Last Judgment

Summary

The video explores a triptych painting, focusing on its grisaille exterior and vibrant, detailed interior scenes depicting religious themes. The left wing portrays the fall of Lucifer and the creation of Eve, while the central panel shows the consequences of sin, featuring graphic depictions of punishment for vices like pride, gluttony, and greed. The right wing illustrates hell, with Satan delivering judgment. Through these vivid images, the artwork highlights the wages of sin and serves as a powerful warning of eternal damnation, urging viewers toward a virtuous life.

Takeaways

• 🖼️ The triptych's exterior is painted in grisaille to mimic the stone of the church, with scenes depicting St. Bavo and St. James in grayscale tones.
• 🌈 On feast days, the triptych would be opened to reveal a vividly colored scene, contrasting sharply with the grayscale exterior.
• 👤 The grisaille painting includes detailed scenes of daily life, such as St. Bavo distributing alms and St. James on a pilgrimage, indicating the artist's innovation beyond traditional church exteriors.
• 🔍 The central panel of the triptych illustrates a narrative from the fall of the rebel angels to the creation of Eve and the original sin.
• 😈 The depiction of hell in the lower part of the central panel is filled with torture and suffering, reflecting the artist's focus on the consequences of sin.
• 🎶 Music is used as a symbol of sinfulness, with instruments played by demons accompanying scenes of indulgence and punishment.
• 🍽️ The sins of gluttony, avarice, and anger are represented through grotesque and detailed scenes of punishment fitting the nature of the crimes.
• 🔥 The right panel shows hell as a place of fire, brimstone, and ruined cities, with Lucifer in a mock judgment of souls.
• 🤔 The triptych reflects a deeply pessimistic view of humanity, questioning the possibility of redemption in the face of the world's sins.
• 🌟 The artwork serves as a moral lesson, suggesting that the horrors depicted could be a deterrent for viewers to live a virtuous life.

Q & A

What is the significance of the triptych's exterior being in grisaille?

The grisaille exterior of the triptych was intended to mimic the stone exterior of the church, but the artist went beyond this tradition by depicting actual people, a city, and the landscape instead of niches and sculptures.

Why are the saints on each wing of the triptych painted in grisaille?

The saints are painted in grisaille to provide a stark contrast to the colorful and vivid scenes depicted when the triptych is opened, symbolizing the transition from the mundane world to the spiritual and divine.

What is the role of St. Bavo as depicted in the triptych?

St. Bavo is shown distributing alms to the sick and the poor, which associates him with the northern city of Ghent and reflects his charitable acts.

How does St. James' depiction in the triptych relate to pilgrimage?

St. James is shown having traveled past various expressions of wickedness, with his faith keeping him safe. He is associated with pilgrimage, which many medieval faithful would follow.

Why is the coat of arms on the triptych blank?

The reason for the blank coat of arms is unknown, but some art historians suggest that the donor may have died before the work was completed.

What is the narrative sequence of the events depicted in the triptych's interior?

The narrative begins with God and the fall of the rebel angels, followed by the creation of Eve, then the Temptation, and finally the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, illustrating the origin of original sin.

How does the depiction of the fall of the rebel angels relate to the story of Adam and Eve?

The fall of the rebel angels and the disobedience of Adam and Eve both demonstrate disobedience to God, with Lucifer being expelled from heaven and man being expelled from the garden, drawing a parallel between the heavenly and earthly realms.

What is the central theme of the central panel of the triptych?

The central panel depicts Christ as a judge, with angels announcing the end of time, and limbo or the edges of hell filled with representations of the seven deadly sins and their corresponding punishments.

How does Bosch use music to symbolize sinfulness in the triptych?

Bosch uses music, such as the lute and horn played by demons, as a vehicle for sinfulness, representing indulgence in pleasure and a sign of the everydayness of sinful activities.

What is the significance of the punishments in hell being related to specific crimes?

The punishments related to specific crimes serve as a moral lesson, illustrating the consequences of sin and the idea that each sin has its corresponding punishment in hell.

How does the depiction of hell in the triptych reflect Bosch's philosophy on sin and redemption?

The depiction of hell as a place of eternal suffering and punishment reflects Bosch's deeply pessimistic view on the wages of sin and questions the possibility of redemption given the sins of the world.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Exterior and Opening of the Triptych

Steven Zucker explains how triptychs were typically viewed closed on weekdays and opened on special days. Upon opening, a transition occurs from mundane imagery to a colorful, vivid depiction of limbo and hell. Beth Harris highlights the contrast between the gray-toned saints on the wings and the vibrant interior. The artist has gone beyond earlier traditions by painting scenes of real people, cities, and landscapes in grisaille, rather than just mimicking stone church exteriors.

05:00

🕊️ St. Bavo and St. James in Grisaille

Beth Harris describes St. Bavo, associated with the city of Ghent, depicted distributing alms to the poor against a Flemish cityscape. Steven Zucker moves to the other wing, focusing on St. James, who represents pilgrimage and faith overcoming wickedness. Though the wings could reveal clues about the patron of the triptych, the coat of arms is blank, leaving historians to speculate that the donor may have passed before its completion.

👼 The Heavenly Battle and the Fall of Man

The narrative inside the triptych begins with a depiction of God in majesty surrounded by battling angels. This scene represents the fall of the rebel angels, led by Lucifer. At the bottom, God is seen creating Eve from Adam, followed by the temptation and the subsequent expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. Beth Harris explains the unfolding timeline, starting from the fall of Lucifer to the creation and downfall of man, establishing the theme of original sin.

⚔️ Parallels Between Lucifer and Humanity’s Fall

Steven Zucker draws parallels between Lucifer’s disobedience and Adam and Eve’s sin, both of which lead to their expulsion—from heaven and the Garden of Eden, respectively. Beth Harris points out that Bosch is preoccupied with the consequences of sin, a concern that resonated even in his own time. There is a profound sense of pessimism and doubt about redemption amidst the rampant sinfulness of the world.

📯 The Central Panel: Limbo and Hell

The central panel shows Christ as the judge, surrounded by angels signaling the end of time. Below, Beth Harris describes the scene as a chaotic depiction of limbo and hell, where the seven deadly sins are represented. Steven Zucker notes that the bottom two-thirds of the panel is dominated by torture, crime, and fantastical devils, with gruesome punishments tailored to the sins committed in life.

🎻 Pride, Gluttony, and Greed Punished in Hell

A series of specific punishments is detailed, beginning with a woman, led by a dragon, being punished for vanity. Steven Zucker comments on how Bosch uses music as a symbol of sin. In the scene of gluttony, a man is force-fed a vile liquid. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker observe the grotesque punishment for greed, where boiling metal made from melted money tortures sinners. The punishments mirror the sins committed, creating a nightmarish and vivid representation of hell.

🔥 Everyday Torture in Bosch’s Hell

Bosch's hell is depicted as a place where devils and demons carry out tortures with disturbing normalcy. Beth Harris comments on the mundane, almost routine manner in which the devils roast, fry, and boil their human victims. The ever-present torment serves as a reminder of the eternal suffering awaiting sinners in hell, where daily tasks of the devils involve constant acts of cruelty.

⚔️ Knights, Corruption, and the Path to Hell

In the central panel, the sin of anger is embodied by three brutal knights, with one wearing a severed head on his helmet. Throughout the foreground, mutilated bodies and symbols of violence reflect humanity’s descent into corruption. Steven Zucker transitions to the right panel, noting that it depicts the final destination—hell itself, where Lucifer presides over the damned, delivering punishments in line with their earthly sins.

⚖️ Lucifer’s Judgement and the Horrors of Hell

The final panel contrasts God’s presence in the upper left of the triptych with Lucifer, who judges sinners in the lower right. Beth Harris describes the toads that torment souls, and the damned crying in agony as they realize their fate. The hellish landscape is apocalyptic, filled with fire, brimstone, and ruined cities. Steven Zucker remarks on the horror of this vision, designed to instill fear of sin and encourage virtuous living.

Keywords

💡Triptych

A triptych is a three-part work of art, traditionally hinged together and folding like a book. In the context of the video, the triptych is a painting that is closed during the week and opened on special occasions to reveal its interior. The script describes the transition from the prosaic exterior to the vivid interior scenes, illustrating the concept of a triptych as a vehicle for storytelling and revelation.

💡Grisaille

Grisaille is a painting technique characterized by a monochromatic palette, typically shades of gray. It was used to mimic stonework in medieval art. In the video, the exterior of the triptych is painted in grisaille to resemble the stone of the church, but it also depicts actual people, a city, and landscape, showing an evolution from traditional grisaille use.

💡Saint Bavo

Saint Bavo is depicted in the video as a figure in grisaille on one of the triptych's wings, distributing alms to the sick and poor. He is associated with the northern city of Ghent, and his inclusion in the artwork provides a local religious and historical context to the piece.

💡Saint James

Saint James is another figure in grisaille on the triptych's other wing. He is associated with pilgrimage and is depicted as having traveled past expressions of wickedness, his faith keeping him safe. His representation in the video underscores the theme of faith and protection in the face of sin.

💡Patron

A patron in the context of art refers to the person who commissioned a work. The script mentions that the triptych's wings could have given clues to its patron, but the coat of arms is blank, suggesting that the patron may have died before the work was completed. This detail adds a layer of mystery and historical context to the artwork.

💡Lucifer

Lucifer, also known as the devil, is a central figure in the video's discussion of the triptych's interior. He leads the rebellion of angels and is later shown in hell, meting out punishments. His depiction illustrates the concept of sin and its consequences, which is a central theme of the artwork.

💡Original Sin

Original sin refers to the sin of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit, which led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. In the video, the concept is depicted through scenes of the creation of Eve, the temptation, and the expulsion, highlighting the theme of mankind's inherent sinful nature.

💡Seven Deadly Sins

The seven deadly sins are a classification of vices in Christian teachings. In the video, these sins are represented in the central panel of the triptych, each with its corresponding punishment in hell. This depiction serves to illustrate the wages of sin and the artist's exploration of morality.

💡Limbo

Limbo is a state of existence between heaven and hell, often associated with the souls of those who were not sinful but not baptized. In the video, limbo is depicted as part of the central panel, showing the edges of hell and the suffering that awaits those who did not achieve salvation.

💡Apocalyptic

Apocalyptic refers to a vision or description of the end of the world. The video describes the city of hell as an apocalyptic scene, filled with fire, brimstone, and ruined cities. This imagery reinforces the video's theme of judgment and the consequences of sin.

💡Redemption

Redemption is the act of making up for one's wrongdoings or being saved from sin. The video discusses the possibility of redemption in the context of the sins of the world, questioning whether it is possible given the extent of human transgressions.

Highlights

The exterior of closed triptychs was often painted in grisaille to resemble the stone of churches, contrasting with the vivid interior panels.

When the triptych was opened, viewers would see brilliantly colored scenes of limbo and hell, creating a striking contrast with the grayscale exterior.

Saint Bavo is shown distributing alms to the poor in a Flemish city, offering a glimpse into the detailed urban landscapes.

The depiction of St. James reflects his connection to pilgrimage and faith, which shields him from the wickedness around him.

The coat of arms in the triptych is blank, leading some art historians to speculate that the donor may have died before the work was completed.

The left wing of the triptych portrays God in heaven, surrounded by angels in a scene showing the fall of rebel angels led by Lucifer.

At the foot of the panel, we see the creation of Eve from Adam’s side, symbolizing the last act of creation.

The Temptation of Adam and Eve leads to their expulsion from Paradise, marking the origin of sin, death, and temptation in humanity.

The parallel between Lucifer’s fall from heaven and Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden reflects the theme of disobedience and punishment.

Bosch's art focuses on the wages of sin, with a deeply pessimistic view questioning the possibility of redemption.

The central panel is dominated by scenes of limbo and hell, filled with fantastical creatures and tortures linked to the seven deadly sins.

Bosch uses music as a symbol of indulgence, with demons playing instruments like lutes and horns to accompany scenes of sinfulness.

Specific punishments are linked to specific sins, such as the overweight man being forcibly fed liquid as a representation of gluttony.

Demons engage in everyday tortures, roasting, cooking, and mutilating humans as if it were a mundane task, emphasizing the eternity of hell.

Lucifer sits in mock judgment over the damned souls, assigning punishments in a hell filled with fire, brimstone, and ruined cities.

Transcripts

STEVEN ZUCKER: As with many triptychs,

viewers could see the exterior of the closed triptych

during the weekdays.

And on feast days or on the weekends,

the painting would be opened up.

You would move from the rather prosaic expressions

of our world to a brilliantly colored

scene of the horrors of limbo and the horrors of hell.

BETH HARRIS: We see a saint on each wing.

And these are painted in grisaille, in tones of gray.

So it really would have been amazing

when it opened to this colorful vision.

STEVEN ZUCKER: The idea of painting

the exterior in grisaille was meant to mimic the exterior,

that is, the stone, of the church.

But here the artist has moved far

beyond that earlier tradition.

And he's actually not painting niches and sculptures,

but actual people, a city and the landscape.

BETH HARRIS: So here in grisaille one side,

we see St. Bavo, who was associated

with the northern city of Ghent.

He's shown distributing alms to the sick and the poor

through a doorway, a view of a Flemish city.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Showing the wonderful detail

of that cityscape.

Let's walk around to the other side

and take a look at St. James.

You can see he's traveled past all kinds of expressions

of wickedness.

His faith, however, has kept him safe.

And he's very much associated with pilgrimage.

It is his pilgrimage that so many medieval faithful

would follow.

BETH HARRIS: These wings could have given us clues

to the patron of this very large triptych,

but unfortunately, the coat of arms is blank.

STEVEN ZUCKER: We don't know why,

but some art historians have suggested

that perhaps the donor may have died

before the work was finished.

Let's look inside.

The image, in a sense, unfolds as a kind of story,

beginning in the left wing.

We see God in heaven.

He is in majesty, in a kind of brilliant mandorla surrounded

by clouds.

But when you look more closely, you

see that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands,

of angels that seem to be battling each other.

This is the fall of the rebel angels.

BETH HARRIS: This is a rebellion of angels

led by Lucifer, the devil.

STEVEN ZUCKER: And they will be expelled from heaven

and, of course, will go to reside in hell.

And down at the very foot of the panel,

we can see God extracting Eve from Adam's side.

That is the last part of the creation of Adam and Eve.

Just above that, we have the Temptation.

There is a sense of peace in the foreground.

But this act of defiance against God's law

is this important breaking point because you

can see that beyond that original sin,

you have one animal eating another

instead of living in harmony.

And then you have an avenging angel

who is expelling Adam and Eve from Paradise

and leading them into to the world that we know.

BETH HARRIS: We have an unfolding of events at the top,

beginning with God and the fall of the rebel angels, the event

that happens first.

Then we jump down to the bottom and the creation of Eve,

then just above that the Temptation,

and above that the expulsion of Adam

and Even from the Garden of Eden.

And of course, this is the origin of original sin.

And after the expulsion of Adam and Eve

from the Garden of Eden, mankind knows

sin and temptation and death.

STEVEN ZUCKER: These stories echo each other.

You have Lucifer disobeying God.

You have Adam and Eve disobeying God.

You have Lucifer being expelled from heaven.

And you have man being expelled from the garden.

So there is this parallel of the heavenly and the earthly.

BETH HARRIS: And what Bosch is really concerned with

are the wages of sin.

This is what Bosch was famous, for even in his time.

STEVEN ZUCKER: This deeply pessimistic philosophy,

this questioning, is there any possibility

of redemption given the sins of the world?

BETH HARRIS: It certainly doesn't seem that way.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Well, let's take a look at the evidence

that he offers.

OK, so we're moving to the central panel.

At the top, we see Christ, functioning as judge.

We see angels with long golden trumpets

who are announcing the end of time.

BETH HARRIS: And below it, taking up

most of the central panel, is limbo, or the edges of hell.

And this is a scene that Bosch has combined

with images of the seven deadly sins, the sins

that cause mankind to spend eternity in hell.

STEVEN ZUCKER: This is a painting whose bottom 2/3

is filled with torture and the terrible crimes

that people inflict upon each other,

but here enacted by devils and composite creatures that

are incredibly fantastic.

BETH HARRIS: The punishments that we

see here are punishments for specific crimes.

And the punishments are related to the crimes.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Let's take a look at a few specifics.

BETH HARRIS: On the left side, we

see something that resembles an inn.

On the roof, a figure who seems remarkably

oblivious to everything that's going on.

She walks as though she's on a fashion runway.

But surrounding her and biting her is a hideous insect.

And she's led by a hideous dragon.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Led to a kind of hellish brothel.

BETH HARRIS: And all accompanied by a lute,

played by another demon.

STEVEN ZUCKER: As well as a horn played by a demon in the back,

where the horn actually looks as if it's

an extension of this nose.

Bosch uses music as one vehicle for sinfulness.

BETH HARRIS: A kind of sign of indulgence in pleasure.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Below the representation

of pride or vanity, you have the sins of gluttony.

You see a rather overweight man who's

having liquid forcibly poured in to him

as he's restrained by devils.

BETH HARRIS: And it's not a very nice liquid.

STEVEN ZUCKER: No.

If you look a little bit above that barrel,

you can see that there's a siphon that's

receiving the excrement of a devil

whose backside just be seen through the gated window.

Below that, you see one large demonic fish devouring another,

which seems to be a reference to a northern proverb,

the big fish eats the little.

BETH HARRIS: That we take advantage

of those who are smaller and weaker and less powerful

than we are.

STEVEN ZUCKER: To the right of that,

we can see just inside the inn a series of hanging figures,

and below that, a large cauldron with a series of figures

that seem to be boiling.

And we know that they're boiling in molten metal, the metal that

had been melted from their money.

BETH HARRIS: So this is the sin of avarice or greed.

STEVEN ZUCKER: There are endless representations

of pain and suffering.

You see men being roasted or fried by demonic frogs.

You see, in one case, a frying pan with pieces of a body.

This frog-like figure seems ready to take her two eggs that

sit beside her and crack those into the pan as well.

BETH HARRIS: And make a yummy omelet.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Yeah.

BETH HARRIS: I think that what's so disturbing

here is the everydayness of the devilish figures who

torture the human beings.

They're just going about their roasting and cooking

and frying and torturing as thought

it were a normal, everyday activity.

And it reminds us that hell is eternity.

STEVEN ZUCKER: In the middle of the large panel,

you can see the sin of anger.

And it's represented by three knights

who are particularly awful.

There's one knight in the middle who has upon his helmet

a severed, blinded head.

Below that, you see images of corruption.

And scattered throughout the foreground,

you see images of bodies that have been mutilated,

that have been shot with arrows.

Bodies have been cut and wounded and devoured in various ways.

And all of this, of course, is a lead-in to the right panel,

to hell itself.

BETH HARRIS: When we think about the triptych as a whole,

we have God in the upper left and Satan

diagonally across on the lower right.

STEVEN ZUCKER: Lucifer here sits in a kind

of mock judgement of the souls that

have been found to have been sinful.

And here he is meting out the terrible punishments

according to their crimes in life.

BETH HARRIS: And you can see in the doorway behind him

images of toads, which often torture figures

in images of the last judgment, and then

above, on the roof, all of the damned in hell who've

recognized where they're spending eternity,

who are wailing and crying and flailing their arms.

STEVEN ZUCKER: And will populate the city

of hell, which we see rising above this image.

It is a place of fire and brimstone.

It is a place of ruined cities, of absolute neglect.

It is an apocalyptic scene most horrible.

BETH HARRIS: And if this didn't make

you want to live a virtuous life, I don't know what would.

[MUSIC PLAYING]