The Garden Of Earthly Delights Analysis

The Garden of Earthly Delights is the title by which the triptych completed by Hieronymous Bosch between 1490 and 1510 (Belting 2002). The painting is created using oil on oak; two outer panels fold over a central panel to “close” the triptych. The subject matter of the triptych is the creation story from the Bible. In the left panel, the offering of Eve to Adam by God is depicted; the center panel shows multiple nude figures interacting in a landscape. There are also multiple mythical creatures, outsized fruit and stone landscape pieces. On the right panel of the triptych is Bosch’s presentation of a hell or “damnation” scene, with people being tormented for their Earthly sins (Belting 2002). The symbolism of the triptych is clearly Biblically based; in the extant literature the painting is commonly referred to as a kind of warning

Surrealism is an artistic and cultural movement dating back to the early twentieth century; art works created in this movement sought to interrogate the psychological space between, and around, dream states and physical reality (Rubin 1968). The Garden of Earthly Delights can be seen as a clear example of such ambiguous exploration. The human unconscious is allowed an expressive voice in Surrealist art works (Rubin 1968); The Garden of Earthly Delights can be seen as having a strong presence of the unconscious, subconscious, dreamlike or fantastical in its presentation (Belting 2002). However, such surreal elements are presented, in The Garden of Earthly Delights, within the context of established and well-known Biblical concepts and settings. These include the Garden of Eden, the afterlife, Hell and