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Hieronymus Bosch Totalitarianism

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“If you can feel that staying human is worthwhile, even when it cannot have any result whatever, you 've beaten them.” George Orwell’s works were designed to challenge his readers and to question the totalitarian countries, specifically Russia. Hieronymus Bosch, a Renaissance painter and artist of The Last Judgment, connects his painting to George Orwell’s 1984 by being a pessimistic painter during a time period of totalitarianism due to World War II, showing how life differed throughout time of war, and showing a repressive and power-driven theme throughout his painting. Born in India, George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, and critic who is known for his dystopian-like novels, showing readers the negative effects of individuality …show more content…

Many people admired his strong sense of uniqueness, “His style is so unique, his representations so original, his creative output so fanciful that one is left simply dazzled. For the past five centuries, people have tried to unlock the elusive significance behind his aesthetic symbolism” (Coventry). Bosch, many decades and centuries later, is still remaining a mystery. There are so many aspects of his life people could never fully grasp, leaving this man enigmatic. He lived in a time of feudalism, which was accompanied by war, famine, and plague created a large amount of impoverished people. Bosch is known throughout history as the Mysterious Artist, little is known about his life and only a few traces in public records have been found of Bosch. He was well known by King Phillip II of Spain, who is quite the fan of Bosch; King Phillip is said to have hung The Garden of Earthly Delights, a similar triptych as The Last Judgment, above his bed, reminding him to continue on the righteous path towards a monarchy. Although little is known about the thoughts Bosch had towards the meaning of his own work, many critics believe he is showing the fall of humanity and the following consequences of one owns

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