Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (Part Three): Great Art Explained

Summary

This video analyzes the final, controversial panel of Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights,' focusing on the depiction of Hell. The painting contrasts earlier scenes set in nature with a man-made, chaotic world of punishment. Bosch's detailed and imaginative portrayal critiques human sins such as lust, greed, and envy, while incorporating religious symbols and moral allegories. The interpretation highlights how Bosch uses musical instruments, bizarre creatures, and tortured souls to depict Hell as a place of suffering, moral blindness, and eternal consequence. The video encourages viewers to contemplate the painting's symbolism and deeper meaning.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The final panel of Hieronymus Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' is set in a man-made world representing Hell, where the consequences of human actions are depicted.
• 👹 The creatures in Hell are painted with the same realism as the humans, suggesting they could have been believed to exist.
• 📜 A pig dressed as a nun persuading a soul to sign a document is interpreted by some as a critique of the Church's sale of indulgences.
• 🔮 The concept of selling one's soul for diabolical favors was a major preoccupation in the Middle Ages.
• 🍄 The foot hanging off a demon's helmet might reference ergotism, a condition mistaken for demonic possession during Bosch's time.
• 🎶 Musical instruments, which were considered sinful, are used to torture souls in Hell, reflecting the seven deadly sins.
• 🐸 The owl, a symbol of wisdom, reappears as the prince of Hell, indicating the inversion of values in Hell.
• 💸 The panel shows various deadly sins being punished, such as greed, gluttony, and lust, with each sin receiving a fitting punishment.
• 🌳 The 'Tree Man' is a complex figure combining realism, metaphor, and fantasy, possibly representing Bosch himself as a warning against vanity.
• ❄️ Hell is depicted with a frozen landscape, suggesting the coldness and lifelessness of eternal damnation.
• 🔥 The painting culminates with a city on fire, symbolizing the chaos and destruction that can result from sin.

Q & A

What is the setting of the final panel in Hieronymus Bosch's triptych discussed in the transcript?

The final panel, depicting hell, is set in a man-made world, contrasting with the natural settings of the previous scenes.

How are the demons portrayed in the hell panel, and what does this suggest about their existence?

The demons are painted with the same conviction and realism as the humans, suggesting that they are as real as the people in the painting.

What is the significance of the pig dressed as a nun in the bottom right of the panel?

The pig dressed as a nun represents a deceitful figure trying to trick a soul into signing a document, symbolizing the selling of one's soul for diabolical favors.

What is the critique that some historians believe Bosch is making with the indulgence sale scene?

Some historians see the indulgence sale scene as a critique of the church, particularly the sale of indulgences which led to widespread corruption.

Why is the man in the indulgence sale scene likely not being criticized by Bosch?

Bosch, as a member of the illustrious brotherhood of our blessed lady, which played a key role in the indulgence industry, was unlikely to be critical of it.

What does the toad on the notary's lapel signify?

The toad on the notary's lapel is a sign of the devil's henchman, a recurring symbol throughout the hell panel.

What is the possible connection between the foot hanging off the helmet of the demon offering a pen and ergotism?

The foot hanging off the helmet could refer to ergotism, a condition caused by fungus in bread that led to hallucinations and was thought to be caused by demonic possession.

How are the seven deadly sins represented in the hell panel?

The seven deadly sins are represented through various scenes such as a greedy miser forced to excrete gold coins, a glutton vomiting food, and a vain woman staring at her reflection in a demon's backside.

What is the meaning behind the overturned table with a gambler nailed by his hand?

The overturned table with a gambler nailed by his hand is a reference to Christ and the moneylenders, symbolizing moral or spiritual blindness.

What is the significance of the tree man in the painting?

The tree man is a mix of realism, metaphor, and fantasy, possibly representing the antichrist, with his torso as a broken egg and his head topped with bagpipes, symbolizing lust.

How does the city on fire at the climax of the painting reflect the medieval perception of hell?

The city on fire reflects the medieval perception of hell as a place of chaos and destruction, with people trying to escape the flames and being judged and punished.

Outlines

00:00

🔥 Interpretation of Hell in Bosch's Art

This paragraph discusses the interpretation of the final panel in Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights', which depicts hell as a man-made world. It contrasts with the natural settings of previous scenes and emphasizes human responsibility for their fate. The nudity of the souls reflects their shame, and the creatures are painted with the same realism as the humans, suggesting they might have existed. A key scene involves a pig disguised as a nun persuading a soul to sign a document, which some interpret as a critique of the Church's sale of indulgences. However, the speaker disagrees, suggesting it represents a man being tricked into a pact with the devil. The paragraph also explores the prevalence of the seven deadly sins throughout the panel, with each sin receiving a fitting punishment. The speaker also touches on the historical context of Bosch's time, including the construction of a cathedral funded by the sale of indulgences.

05:01

🎭 Symbolism and Repetitive Imagery in Bosch's Work

The second paragraph delves into the symbolism and repeated imagery found in Bosch's artwork. It discusses the city of Den Bosch as an open sewer, reflecting the unsanitary conditions of the time. The speaker provides insight into Bosch's working methods through an infrared scan, revealing original sketches and modifications. The paragraph highlights various symbols, such as the severed hand with dice, the overturned table, and the blindfolded figure, each representing corruption, the betrayal of God's word, and moral or spiritual blindness. It also touches on the theme of gambling leading to lust and other sins, the role of music as sinful, and the various forms of punishment in hell, including a crucifixion on a harp and the Tree Man, which combines realism with fantasy. The Tree Man is a complex figure, possibly a self-portrait of Bosch, and includes elements like a broken egg and bagpipes, symbolizing lust and sin.

10:03

🌍 Last Judgment and the Chaos of Hell

The third paragraph continues the exploration of Bosch's hell, suggesting it aligns with the concept of the Last Judgment. It describes the Tree Man as a ferryman of souls, with a leper's saw on his leg, possibly representing the Antichrist. The paragraph discusses the freezing over of hell, with figures skating on ice and a demon with a horse skull, serving as a memento mori. It also mentions a demon ringing a bell with a naked man as a clapper and a devil reeling in a key, which could symbolize the opening of the gates of hell. The section also includes a reference to soldiers being punished, possibly for their role in Christ's arrest, and a war machine crushing people, symbolizing deafness to God's word. The climax of the painting is a city on fire, possibly based on Bosch's memories, with people trying to escape and a hostile army seizing the city.

15:03

👥 The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil

The final paragraph summarizes the painting as a representation of the eternal struggle between good and evil, with a focus on the medieval understanding of death and judgment. It describes the chaotic scene of people trying to escape a fiery hell, being pushed towards judgment and punishment. The paragraph ends with a tiny detail at the top of the painting, showing a fight between a demon and a human, symbolizing the lifelong battle between good and evil. The speaker invites viewers to share their theories and ideas about the painting, treating it as an intellectual puzzle with a moralistic message.

Keywords

💡Inner Panels

Inner panels refer to the individual sections or scenes within a larger artwork, in this case, Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights'. The video script discusses the interpretation of the first two inner panels in part two and the final, most controversial panel in part three. These panels are crucial to understanding the overall narrative and symbolism of the painting.

💡Hell

In the context of the video, 'Hell' is the setting of the final panel of Bosch's triptych, representing a man-made world filled with suffering and punishment. It is a central theme of the video, as the speaker delves into the details and possible interpretations of the various elements within this panel, such as the man-made nature of the torments and the loss of eroticism.

💡Demons

Demons in the video are depicted as clothed entities in stark contrast to the naked human souls, emphasizing their role as tormentors in the hellish landscape. They are portrayed with the same realism as the humans, suggesting their tangible existence within the artist's conception of hell, as seen in the bottom right scene where a demon disguised as a nun tricks a soul into signing a document.

💡Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins are a group of vices in Christian teachings, which include lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. The video discusses how Bosch represents these sins in the painting, using them as a moral framework to critique human behavior and its consequences in the afterlife, such as the depiction of a glutton vomiting food or a miser forced to excrete gold coins.

💡Indulgences

Indulgences were a practice in the Catholic Church where people could buy a pardon for their sins. The video suggests that Bosch's depiction of a soul signing a document with a demon disguised as a nun could be a critique of this practice, which led to corruption and was a catalyst for Martin Luther's Reformation.

💡Ergotism

Ergotism is a condition caused by a fungus in bread that can lead to hallucinations and physical afflictions. In the video, it is mentioned in relation to the depiction of a demon with a foot hanging off his helmet, possibly symbolizing the effects of ergotism, which was misunderstood in Bosch's time as a sign of demonic possession.

💡Memento Mori

Memento Mori is a Latin term meaning 'remember that you have to die', used in art to remind viewers of their mortality. The video mentions a horse skull as an example of memento mori, serving as a stark reminder of death's inevitability within the context of the hellish scene.

💡Antichrist

The Antichrist is a figure in Christian eschatology who is opposed to Christ. The video suggests that one of the figures in the painting, with a leper's saw on his leg, might represent the Antichrist, reflecting the belief that the Antichrist would be of Jewish origin and covered in leper sores.

💡Tree Man

The Tree Man is a unique and complex figure in Bosch's painting, combining realism, metaphor, and fantasy. It is described as a mix of a man and a tree, with various elements symbolizing sin and punishment, such as bagpipes on his head and a broken egg as his torso, which also functions as a tavern. The Tree Man is seen as a ferryman, transporting souls across a river to judgment.

💡Musical Instruments

In the context of the video, musical instruments are portrayed as tools of torment in hell, reflecting the sinful nature of non-religious music and its association with lust and other vices. Examples include a man crucified on the strings of a harp or another with a recorder forced into him, symbolizing the inversion of pleasure and the mockery of Christianity.

Highlights

Hell is depicted as a man-made world in contrast to the natural settings of previous scenes.

The demons are clothed, while the human souls are naked, reflecting a loss of innocence.

The creatures in the panel are painted with the same realism as the humans, suggesting they could have existed.

A pig dressed as a nun tries to persuade a soul to sign a document, symbolizing a pact with the devil.

The red seals on the document indicate its seriousness, possibly critiquing the church's sale of indulgences.

The man signing the document may represent the wealthy buying indulgences for a place in heaven.

The toad on the notary's lapel could symbolize the devil's henchman or ergot poisoning, causing hallucinations.

The seven deadly sins are represented throughout the panel, with lust and envy being particularly prominent.

A greedy miser is forced to excrete gold coins, symbolizing the punishment for greed.

The vanity of a woman is mocked by forcing her to stare at her reflection in a demon's backside.

The owl, symbolizing wisdom, appears as the prince of hell, indicating a corruption of knowledge.

The scene of human bodies being consumed and excreted reflects the cycle of sin and punishment.

The overturned table with a gambler nailed to it represents the consequences of moral and spiritual blindness.

The dice on the woman's head symbolizes cheating and the corruption of divine word.

The Tree Man is a mix of realism, metaphor, and fantasy, possibly a self-portrait of Bosch.

The Turkish flag in the Tree Man's backside could symbolize the circuit of lust or the sin of alcohol consumption.

The city on fire may be based on Bosch's childhood memories and represents the chaos and destruction of sin.

The fight between a demon and a human at the top of the painting symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil.

Transcripts

[Music]

in part two

i discussed the first two inner panels

in part three

i discuss possible meanings of the final

and most controversial panel

hell

the previous scenes are set in nature

but hell is a man-made world

there is nothing here that they have not

brought on themselves

and even the musical instruments they

created have turned on them

the demons are clothed but the humans or

souls

are still naked but they have lost any

element of eroticism

and many of them are covering their

bodies ashamed of their nakedness

what is so extraordinary is that the

strange creatures in this panel

are painted with the same conviction and

realism as the humans

as though they actually existed

in the bottom right we find this curious

scene which for me

is the beginning of the panel a pig

dressed as a nun is trying to persuade a

soul to sign a document

a helmeted demon offers a quill and he

has the ink at the ready for him to sign

the red seals show us this is a serious

legal document

for many historians this is seen as a

critique of the church by bosch

specifically the sale of indulgences i

don't think it is

the wealthy combined indulgence from the

church to have their sins forgiven and

secure a place in heaven it led to

widespread corruption

and only one year after hieronymus

bosch's death martin luther published

his attack on

amongst other things the sale of

indulgences

leading to the reformation

in the late 13th century work started on

a gothic cathedral in den bosch

and there is strong evidence that the

church raised most of the funds required

by selling these indulgences

the illustrious brotherhood of our

blessed lady played a key role in the

indulgence industry

so bosh as a member of the inner elite

was hardly likely to be critical of it

i think this man is being tricked into

signing a pact with the devil

by the demon disguised as a nun

a major preoccupation in the middle ages

was the selling of one's soul

in exchange for diabolical favors

it looks like the man is on to them as

he is casting anxious looks

at us the viewer as if pleading for help

the toad on the notre is lapel a sign of

the devil's henchman we saw in the left

panel will appear again

and again in hell the helmeted demon

offering the pen to sign has a foot

hanging off his helmet

which could refer to an affliction

caused by fungus in bread

called ergot victims suffered from

burning sensations and hallucinations of

being attacked by monsters

limbs would rot and fall off

in bosch's time they thought this

condition was caused by possession

by demons in the 1950s

a component from ergot was synthesized

to produce the psychedelic drug we know

today

as lsd this would inevitably lead to

supposition

that bosch painted the garden of earthly

delights while he was tripping

as we've seen the sin of lust was

thought to give rise to other deadly

vices

and once again bosh looks to the seven

deadly sins

the deadly sins again are not scripture

but were described by pope gregory in

the 6th century

by the time of bosch they were a popular

theme in morality plays

and hugely influential in art

lust and envy are everywhere throughout

the panel

elsewhere we find a greedy miser is

forced to excrete gold coins into a

cesspool

the glutton is forced to vomit up his

food

the slothful man is visited in his bed

by a demonic toad

and the vain woman is doomed to stare

for eternity

at her own reflection which we can make

out in a demon's backside

she is being grabbed from behind by

another demon while a toad sits on her

chest

she closes her eyes to avoid her

reflection and

the horror around her i think her

resemblance to eve

is undeniable in the previous panel

birds fed humans here they eat them

the owl again makes his appearance this

time as the prince of hell

with a cauldron for a crown and jugs for

shoes it is sitting on a giant potty

chair

human bodies are being consumed and

excreted

simultaneously to go straight into the

sewer

where others are already drowning in

filth

in bosch's day the river running through

the heart of den bosch was an

open sewer its stench was everywhere in

the city

we can get an insight into bosch's

working practice

if we look at the infrared scan of this

area

we can see that originally bosch

sketched an enormous toad here

hanging over the prince of hell another

perhaps better world is suggested in the

reflection in the prince of hell's crown

behind the prince of hell the crescent

moon on the head of a religious woman

makes a reappearance

the severed hand holding a dice is

another repeated image

it references the word of god we saw in

the first panel

only now it has been corrupted and is

balancing a dice

as man plays with god's word the

overturned table

is a likely reference to christ and the

moneylenders

one gambler is nailed to the table by

the right hand he rolled the dice he

lost his fortune on

on the corner of the table a tally of

souls is being kept

this man is blindfolded and represents

moral or spiritual blindness

there is a difference between being

blindfolded and being blind

as it suggests that the figure had the

capability of seeing the light but

refused

the medieval figure synagogue was a

common symbolic representation of

spiritually blind jews

gambling leads to lust and more sin and

the naked woman with her eyes lowered is

holding a candlestick and beer picture

identifying her as a prostitute in the

netherlands

prostitutes use candles to entice

passers-by

a medieval precursor to the red light

district

the dice on her head is the dice of a

cheat as the opposite sides

cannot add up to seven the man covering

his eyes is bent over

a pose that connects the scene in this

case their hunchbacks

reference homo in curvatures in say a

theological phrase

describing a life lived inward for

oneself

rather than outward for god and others

besides them a hare carries his bleeding

victim on a pole

as he sounds his horn he has a pair of

hounds who have caught another victim

maybe they were poachers hair coursing

was illegal for the lower classes

the hunted becomes hunter expresses the

chaos of hell

where the normal relationships of the

world are turned upside down

non-religious music was considered

sinful associating it with other sins of

the flesh and spirit

musical instruments often carried erotic

connotations

in works of art of the period a

cacophonous choir

is forced to sing by a demonic choir

master

whose tongue is like a scale of notes

the music is written on a victim's

buttocks who is crushed by a giant

[Music]

loot

[Music]

some characters cover their ears as best

they can to try to avoid the horrendous

noise

others are crushed locked or impaled by

the instruments

a man has been tied to the neck of a

giant loot and is about to be set on by

a snake-like monster

a crucifixion is an unusual scene for

hell but here we have a figure

crucified on the strings of an enormous

harp

to emphasize the crucifixion a roasted

toad is offered up to him

in a parody of the sponge of wine

offering to christ

when he was crucified a demon beats a

drum

while inside a man is trapped crying out

in fear

another man has a recorder jammed up his

bottom while he is bearing the weight of

a giant flute

echoing christ carrying the cross

it is as if hell is mocking christianity

on top of the herdy gerdy is a blind

beggar one more turn of the handle

and the lady playing the triangle will

lose her head

the herdy gerdy was associated with

beggars who were often blind

here a stand-in for spiritual blindness

he is holding a begging bowl in his

other hand

bosch gives us the minute detail we

associate with the northern renaissance

artists

and we see a metal badge on a ribbon

hanging off the bowl

which is a license to beg granted by

nobles like henry iii

beside him another man balancing an egg

is hunched up

holding a walking cane another homo

incavartus in sei

the trumpeter wears the ottoman flag and

herald satan

who fell from heaven as a star

the most famous creation in hell is the

tree man

a perfect boshyan mix of realism

metaphor

and fantasy we have seen this figure

before

in an earlier drawing by bosch except in

the original we have a turkish flag

flying out of his backside

the face is almost certainly a

self-portrait of bosch

his look is strangely self-conscious and

stylistically out of keeping with the

other depictions of human faces

he could be there as a warning against

vanity

his torso is a broken egg which doubles

as a tavern in his backside

his head is topped with bagpipes another

instrument for the infernal orchestra

bagpipes were a symbol of lust as they

resemble a scrotum and penis

strange couples of mixed species circle

the bagpipe

a reference to the circuit of lust on

the previous panel

taverns are places where men and women

are lured into sin

one man is sitting on an evil toad

above them the turkish flag from the

drawing is now a bagpipe flag

reminding us that the partaking of

alcohol leads to sin

the tree man is balanced on two small

boats with legs of decaying branches

the boats or skiffs suggest he is

ferrying souls across the river

it is made clearer in his original

drawing

this puts the painting more along the

lines of a last judgment

bosch's own painting of that subject

follows a similar structure to the

garden of earthly delights

the world burns in the background as

souls are being sent across the river to

be judged in the foreground

and both paintings use similar

iconography

on one of his legs a slipped bandage

reveals a leper saw

i don't think anything in this painting

is without meaning and that we are

seeing

anti-jewish sentiment here a possible

interpretation of this

is that he represents the antichrist as

bosch has previously painted this saw

on the leg of a figure in this painting

identified as the jewish antichrist

it was a common belief but not in the

scriptures

that the antichrist would be covered in

leper sores

and that he will be of jewish origin

below him hell is literally frozen over

a man balancing on a giant ice skate

will soon collide with another in the

icy water

a demon bow and arrows at the ready but

strangely with no

arms to fire them is giving chase to the

human figures

the horse skull is like all skulls in

paintings

it is a memento mori to remind us that

one day we will die

the message is clear life is short but

eternity would last forever

below the skull a demon gleefully rings

the bell whose clappers have been

replaced by a naked man

[Music]

out of the skull's eye a devil is

reeling in a key the key has always

puzzled me

as we are so used to seeing keys as

representing the keys to heaven

a medieval interpretation was that god

gave satan the keys to the bottomless

pit

and this is where that comes from

theologically it is ambiguous

but aesthetically it makes sense as

immediately above it

new souls are ushered into hell the key

is there to remind us

that the gates of hell have been opened

the lamp here is extremely prominent i

think this section is reserved for the

soldiers that arrested christ

holding lanterns and carrying weapons

they are being burned alive in the

lantern as punishment

the leader whose flag bears the devil's

toad holds a chalice

while next to it we see a wafer a clear

reference to the body and blood of

christ

he is being eaten alive on a large disc

which in turn

resembles the one in the first panel the

soldiers are being skewered by demons

the character in white with a

stereotypical big nose

is behind them climbing a ladder and

could be judas about to hang himself

the ominous looking ears are a war

machine crushing people in its wake

like the blind metaphors throughout hell

the knife cutting through the ears would

reference

deafness to the word of god but the

similarity to the male sexual organ is

also unmistakable

the knife holds a symbol that looks like

a letter m

or b which has confused historians for

centuries

the truth is pretty mundane den bosch

was known throughout europe for its

manufacture of knives and in the 1990s

archaeologists found a knife dated to

the 15th century

which has the same shape and mark used

here by bosch

even ordinary household implements are

turning on us

cities in europe were tinderboxes and

fires were common

this is the climax of the painting a

realistic portrayal of a city on fire

that may well have been based on bosch's

childhood memories

a hostile army is seizing the city led

by a horned demon

we see people trying to escape the fire

using ladders or jumping into the dirty

waters of the canal

to certain death crowds of people are

being pushed down to the riverbank to be

transported across the icy river

to be judged and punished this is a hell

that the medieval mind would have

understood on so many levels

death was all around them

finally a tiny detail at the apex of the

volcano

we can just make out two figures

fighting one

a demon in black and one a human in

white

this is the fight the bosh's

contemporaries would have seen as a

lifelong battle

the fight between good and evil

this film is only one approach to the

painting it is difficult to ascribe

meaning to all the specific

elements however i decided to take the

approach that viewers in henry iii's

court might have

to treat it as an intellectual puzzle

with a moralistic streak

a painting that is there to create a

conversation

if you have theories or ideas i'd love

to hear about them

in the comments

you