For five centuries, this name either ascended to heaven, or dissolved into oblivion. Bosch, whose paintings are now declared to be either extracted from the depths of the subconscious, or simple horror stories, or caricatures, remains a mystery, a mystery that attracts ...

Hereditary artist

There is little exact information about the life of the master. His real name is Jeroen Antonison van Aken.

From the name of his hometown on the border of Holland and Flanders (Belgium) - Hertogenbosch - came his nickname - Bosch. The artist's paintings are presented in the form of copies in the museum of the town, where he spent his whole life: from birth (about 1450) to burial (1516).

He chose, apparently, according to the artists were his grandfather, father and uncles. A successful marriage got rid of material problems, all his life he was a member of the Brotherhood of Our Lady, performing painting orders for him.

Contemporary of Leonardo

He lived in the Renaissance, but how unique and original was Bosch! The master's paintings have nothing to do with what happened in the south of Europe, not in form, not in content. Most of the master's surviving pictorial masterpieces are folding triptychs or parts of them. The outer sashes were usually painted in grisaille (monochrome), and opening them, one could see an impressive full-color image.

This is what the main masterpieces look like, the author of which is recognized Hieronymus Bosch: paintings "Hay Carriage" (1500-1502), "The Garden of Earthly Delights" (1500-1510), "The Last Judgment" (1504), "The Temptation of St. Anthony" (1505) and others. That is, these are four whole canvases, or rather , boards, combined common theme. The surviving parts of the folds have a high independent artistic value.

"Ship of Fools"

This is the surviving part of the triptych - the central one, the other two were supposedly called "Gluttony" and "Voluptuousness". About these vices in question on the saved image. But like any genius, there is no simple, unambiguous edification here. “Ship of Fools” is a painting by Bosch, in which there is no endless series of symbols and complex ciphers, but it cannot be called a simple illustration for a sermon either.

A strange boat through which a tree sprouted. A cheerful company sits in it, including a monk and a nun, everyone sings selflessly. Their faces - without signs of special mental activity, they are similar and terrible with a special emptiness. It is no coincidence that there is another character here - a jester who has turned away from them alone. Is it one of Shakespeare's tragedies?

fantasy genius

The Garden of Earthly Delights is the rise of Bosch's fantasy and the greatest mystery of world art. On the outer doors in shades of gray - the world on the third day of creation: light, earth and water, and a man is presented on the spread. Bosch is a very complex matter, and this work is like a giant symphony, overflowing with details and images.

The left part is devoted to the origin of life: the Lord introduces the first woman to Adam, inhabited. But evil has already settled among them - a cat strangles a mouse, a doe is killed by a predator. Is this how the Lord intended?

In the center is a multi-figure composition, which is called a false paradise. Above the cycle of life in the form of a closed cavalcade of riders is a fantastically beautiful lake with four channels, with a sky in which birds and people fly. Below - an amazing mass of people, incomprehensible mechanisms, unprecedented creatures. All of them are busy with some kind of terrible fuss, in which some see immeasurable lust, others - pretentious hieroglyphs denoting the most terrible sins.

On the right is a hell inhabited by the most monstrous images - horrors and hallucinations come to life. This composition is also called "Musical Hell": there are many images associated with sounds and musical instruments. There is a theory that this is dictated by the Brotherhood of Our Lady, of which Hieronymus Bosch was a member. Pictures of hell filled with cacophony - the result of inclusion in the church service musical accompaniment against which the Brotherhood protested.

Bosch Mystery

People have always wanted to solve the riddle named Bosch. Pictures painted by a fantastically gifted painter excite even psychologists. Some modern psychoanalysts prove that the images in the artist's paintings can only be born by a mentally ill consciousness. Others believe that in order to depict the variety of human sins in this way, one must have a vicious nature.

Some historians consider Bosch's compositions to be a record of alchemical recipes, where in the form fantasy creatures encrypted components and manipulations to obtain precious elixirs and potions. Others record the artist as a member of the secret sect of Adamites - supporters of the return to innocent nature - Adam and Eve, who called for greater sexual freedom.

We have to admit that the mystery of the artist's images and symbols is forever buried in the river of time, and everyone will have to guess it on their own. This opportunity to find your own answers to the riddles of the master is the best gift of Hieronymus Bosch to posterity.

Hieronymus Bosch is a medieval artist who is fashionable even today, in particular, because of his apocalyptic ideas. Fragments of his work called "The Garden of Earthly Delights" can now be seen even on leggings and in children's coloring, a modern musical group. Why?

Some fanatical, if you can call it that, the artist's paintings late medieval were popular for their nightmarish details: a man playing a flute sticking out of his anus, with the help of releasing gases, or a monster bird devouring sinners and defecating them into a pit for sewage, etc. King Philip II of Spain, the patron of the Inquisition, hung one from paintings by Bosch ("The Seven Deadly Sins") in his bedroom. Perhaps she helped him to better tune in to the fight against heretics.

The most famous picture Bosch - triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights". On the left side of the triptych God, Adam and Eve are depicted in paradise, on the central one: the garden of pleasures, on the right side: degradation, sinners, hell.

Despite the fact that the plot of this picture at first glance seems far from childish, a coloring book for children aged 6 years and over was created from its fragments. The Coloring Book Hieronymus Bosch introduces children to amazing landscapes, fantastic fruits and flowers, and the fabulous animals that Bosch painted. According to the author, the coloring book was published to help children develop creatively and inspire them to create own works art in the future.

Also published in 1991 fiction book"Pish Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch" ("Pah, pah, said Hieronymus Bosch"). The plot of the book is the story of Bosch's disgruntled housekeeper, who is already fed up with the mess that his wild monsters (winged fish and the like) make around the house.

These two products show that even though Hieronymus Bosch died 500 years ago, the images from his work and his vision seem to be more popular than ever. About all his paintings came out A new book from the world famous TASCHEN publishing house. In 2007, an art center dedicated to his work was opened in Bosch's hometown of 's-Hertogenbosch. Prints of his paintings adorn Doc Martens shoes, T-shirts and sweatshirts, surfboards and skateboards. Why is this happening?

Bosch enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime. He has inspired so many imitators that it is sometimes difficult to determine his original canons. But after all, so much time has passed since then: the days of the counter-reformation, the baroque style ...

"The Catholic Church is reclaiming its position and it would like to emphasize the church, salvation and the saints, which was not exactly what Bosch was focusing on," Larry Silver, an art history professor at Pennsylvania State University, said by phone. "Take Rubens. Then, it simply could not be that both Bosch and Rubens could be in demand at the same time. This is one of the circumstances that put an end to his popularity at that time, it was, as it were, a turn from pessimism to the bright side."

This state of affairs continued until the beginning of the 20th century. Art historians such as Carl Justi showed little interest in Bosch's painting, in contrast to the founders and theorists of Surrealism, such as André Breton, who began new wave interest in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. Surrealists and lovers of surrealism appreciated his imagination and "unconscious painting". They were enthusiastic about his ideas against organized religion and bourgeois morality.

Bohemian delight of this kind became a constant presence in the stories of Jerome. There is a thesis, first put forward by Wilhelm Franger in 1947, that Bosch was a member of a cult called the Free Spirit Brothers. In this interpretation, the central part of the garden shows not a world that is slipping into sinfulness, but the enjoyment of sexual tantric delights. free love in harmony with nature. There is another interesting reference to the Garden of Earthly Delights in The Da Vinci Code, chapter 37.

There is also a version, no less popular than about the sex cult, that Bosch had bad trips from eating moldy rye bread. According to author Walter Bosing, for Bosch, it “worked like a miracle cure to help make up for the lack of education and scholarships in higher education.” educational institutions and contributing to the creation of paintings that satisfy the sensational appetites of viewers.” Next funny example- philosopher, publicist of the 60s Norman Oliver Brown, who combined Freud's theories of anal eroticism with Martin Luther's doctrine of justification by faith, illustrated his work with the Garden of Earthly Delights.

Such interpretations are in line with modern stereotypes O psychedelic paintings an artist with an upset psyche, but for modern experts they are nothing more than jokes, academics only laugh at them. Bosing calls them "scientific nonsense". It is more likely that Bosch was simply an artist completely out of his time, and not a crazy drug addict who attends sectarian orgies and paints them after using LSD.

Either way, now Bosch is a muse to some of the most important creators. Director Guillermo del Toro (films Pan's Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak...) cites Bosch as the inspiration for his famous surreal imagery. The late Alexander McQueen used Jerome-printed fabrics to create his final collection. Best-selling writer Michael Connelly named the protagonist of his most popular detective novel after the painter. Above his desk is a copy of Bosch's Inferno.

Its current popularity comes from the fact that modern people his ideas are close and interesting. To date, films about the apocalypse are on the lists of the most box office films. Among ordinary people, art lovers and artists, not only Jerome's paintings are very popular, but also his style in general, his unique approach to art. The paintings of Hieronymus Bosch equally attract both our compatriots and foreign viewers. Bosch was a very interesting person. His paintings are very multifaceted and ambiguous, they can be understood in different ways. Therefore, it may turn out that his work will not lose its relevance soon, it will live for a very long time after us.

The triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights" was made in oil on wood, approximately in 1500 - 1510. Its size: 389 cm. 220 cm. The painting is in the Prado National Museum, in Madrid.

The painting "Ship of Fools" was made in oil on a board, approximately in 1495 - 1500. Its size: 33 cm. 58 cm. The painting is in the Louvre, in Paris.

The painting "Carrying the Cross" (Ghent) was made in oil on a board, around 1490 - 1500. Its size: 83.5 cm. 77 cm. The painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts, in Ghent.

The painting "Carrying the Cross" (Vienna) was made in oil on a board, approximately in 1515 - 1516. Its size: 32 cm. 57 cm. The painting is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

"Carrying the Cross" (Madrid) - side panel from a triptych that has not survived, made in oil on board, around 1505. Its size: 94 cm. 150 cm. The painting is in the Royal Palace, in Madrid.

The triptych "The Temptation of St. Anthony" was made in oil on wood, around 1505-1506. Its size: 225 cm. 131.5 cm. The painting is in the National Museum old art, in Lisbon.

The panel "The Temptation of St. Anthony" is made in oil on wood, not earlier than 1490. Its size: 52.5 cm. 73 cm. It is located in the Prado National Museum, in Madrid.

The painting "The Prodigal Son" was made in oil on board, around 1510. Its diameter: 70 cm. The painting is in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.

The painting "Seven deadly sins and four last things"made in oil on a board, around 1475 - 1480. Its size: 150 cm x 120 cm. The painting is in the Prado National Museum, in Madrid.

The painting "Saint Christopher" was made in oil on a board, around 1504 - 1505. Its size: 71.5 cm x 113 cm. The painting is in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.

The Last Judgment triptych was made in oil on wood, around 1504. Its size: 247 cm. 164 cm. The painting is in the Academy fine arts, in Vienna.

The painting "The Crowning with Thorns" (London) was made in oil on a board, approximately in 1508 - 1509. Its size: 59 cm x 73 cm. The painting is in the National Gallery, London.

The painting "The Crowning with Thorns" (Escorial) was made in oil on board, around 1510. Its size: 195 cm x 165 cm. The painting is located in the Escorial Monastery, in the city of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, in Spain.

The Hay Cart triptych was made in oil on wood, around 1500-1502. Its size: 190 cm. 135 cm. The painting exists in two copies. One is in the Prado National Museum, in Madrid. The second is in the Escorial Monastery, in the city of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, in Spain.

The painting "Extracting the stone of stupidity" was made in oil on a board, around 1475 - 1480. Its size: 35 cm x 48 cm. The painting is in the Prado National Museum, in Madrid.

The Adoration of the Magi triptych was made in oil on wood, around 1510. Its size: 138 cm. 138 cm. The painting is in the Prado National Museum, in Madrid.

Hieronymus Bosch - the most enigmatic artist all times and peoples. His paintings are still trying to decipher. But we will not come close to their complete solution.

Because Bosch spoke several languages. In the language of religious symbolism. In the language of the alchemists. Also Dutch proverbs. And even astrology.

It's hard not to get confused. But thanks to this, interest in Bosch will never dry up. Here are just a few of his masterpieces, which are so captivating with their mystery.

1. Garden of earthly delights. 1505-1510

Hieronymus Bosch. The Garden of Earthly Delights. 1505-1510 Prado Museum, Madrid. wikimedia.commons.org

"Garden of Earthly Delights" notable work Bosch. It can be viewed for hours. But so nothing to understand. Why all these naked people? Giant berries. Weird fountains. Outlandish monsters.

In a nutshell. Paradise is depicted on the left wing. God just created Adam and Eve. But Bosch's paradise is not so heavenly. Here we see Evil. A cat drags a mouse in its teeth. And nearby, a bird is pecking at a frog.

Why? Animals can do evil. This is their way of survival. But for a man this is a sin.

Hieronymus Bosch. The Garden of Earthly Delights. Fragment of the left wing of the triptych. 1505-1510 Prado Museum, Madrid

In the middle part of the triptych, many naked people lead an idle lifestyle. They care only about earthly pleasures. The symbols of which are giant berries and birds.

People indulge in the sin of voluptuousness. But conditionally. We understand this through symbols. You will not find explicit erotica. Only one pair does not look very decent. Try to find her.

If it doesn’t work out, you will find it in close-up in the article.

But did you know that a copy of the central part of the famous triptych is stored in it? Created 50 years later by a follower of Bosch. The postures and gestures are the same. Only Mannerist people. With beautiful torsos and languid faces.

Bosch's characters are more flat and bloodless. Like blanks, blanks of people. And why write real people if their life is empty, aimless.

Top: Follower of Bosch. The Garden of Earthly Delights. Fragment. 1556-1568 , Saint Petersburg. Below: Hieronymus Bosch. The central part of the triptych. 1505-1510 Prado Museum, Madrid

On right wing we see Hell. Here are those who were fond of idle music or gluttony. Gamblers and drunkards. Proud and miserly.

But even here there are no less mysteries. Why are we meeting Eve here? She sits under the chair of a bird-headed monster. What kind of notes are depicted on the backside of one of the sinners? And why did poor musicians end up in Hell?

2. Ship of fools. 1495-1500

Hieronymus Bosch. Ship of fools. 1495-1500 . wikimedia.commons.org

Painting “Ship of Fools”. Why a ship? A common metaphor in Bosch's time. This is what they said about the Church. She must “carry” her parishioners through worldly fuss to spiritual purity.

But something is wrong with Bosch's ship. Its passengers indulge in empty fun. They bawl, they drink. Both monks and laity. They don't even notice that their ship isn't sailing anywhere. And so long ago that a tree sprouted through the bottom.

Pay attention to the jester. A fool by profession behaves more seriously than others. He turned away from the merry and drinks his compote. Without him, there are enough fools on this ship.

“Ship of Fools” is the upper part of the right wing of the triptych. The lower part is stored in another country. On it we see the coast. The bathers threw off their clothes and surrounded the barrel of wine.

Two of them swam to the ship of fools. Look, one of them has the same bowl as the bather next to the barrel.

Hieronymus Bosch. Allegory of gluttony and lust. 1500 Art Gallery Yale University, New Haven, USA.

3. Temptation of St. Anthony. 1505-1506

. 1500 National Museum of Old Art in Lisbon, Portugal. wikimedia.commons.org

Temptation of Saint Anthony. Another fantastic Bosch triptych. Among the heap of monsters and monsters - four stories from the life of a hermit.

First, demons torment the saint in heaven. Satan sent them. It haunted him that he was struggling with earthly temptations.

The demons threw the tormented saint to the ground. We see how his exhausted lead under the arms.

In the central part, the saint is already kneeling among the mysterious characters. It's the alchemists trying to concoct him with an elixir eternal life. As we know, nothing came of them.

Hieronymus Bosch. Temptation of Saint Anthony. Fragment of the central part of the triptych. 1500 National Museum of Old Art in Lisbon, Portugal

And on the right wing, Satan made another attempt to seduce the saint from his righteous path. Coming to him in the form of a beautiful queen. To seduce him. But even here the saint resisted.

The triptych “The Temptation of St. Anthony” is interesting for its monsters. From such a variety of unknown creatures, the eyes run wide.

And sheep-headed monsters with the body of a plucked goose. And half-humans, half-trees with fish tails. Bosch's most famous monster also lives here. An absurd creature with a funnel and a bird's beak.

Hieronymus Bosch. Fragment of the left wing of the triptych "The Temptation of St. Anthony". 1500 National Museum of Old Art in Lisbon, Portugal

You can admire these entities in detail in the article.

Bosch liked to portray St. Anthony. In 2016, another painting with this saint was recognized as the work of Bosch.

Yes, the little monsters look like Bosch's. There is nothing wrong with them. But fantasy is more than enough. And a funnel on the legs. And a scoop nose. And a walking fish.

Hieronymus Bosch. Temptation of Saint Anthony. 1500-1510 Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, USA. wikimedia.commons.org

4. Prodigal son. 1500

Hieronymus Bosch. Prodigal son. 1500 Boymans-Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. wikimedia.commons.org

In the picture "Prodigal Son" instead of a huge number of characters - one main character. Wayfarer.

He's pretty beat up with life. But he has hope. Leaving the world of debauchery and sin, he wants to return home to his father. In the world of righteous life and spiritual grace.

He looks back at the house. Which is an allegory for a dissolute lifestyle. Tavern or inn. Temporary shelter full of primitive amusements.

The roof has leaked. The shutter is warped. A visitor urinates right around the corner. And two have mercy in the doorway. All this symbolizes spiritual degradation.

Hieronymus Bosch. Prodigal son. Fragment. 1500 Boijmans-Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

But our traveler has already woken up. He realized that he needed to leave. A woman is looking at him from the window. She doesn't understand what he's doing. Or jealous. She does not have the strength and ability to leave this “leaky”, miserable world.

The "prodigal son" is like another traveller. Which is depicted on the closed doors of the triptych "Who hay".

Hieronymus Bosch. Wanderer. Closed sashes triptych "Wagon of the Seine". 1516 Prado Museum, Madrid

Here the meaning is similar. We are travelers. On our way there is much to rejoice. But there are also many dangers. Where are we going? And will we get somewhere? Or will we wander like this until death overtakes us on the road?

5. Carrying the Cross 1515-1516

Hieronymus Bosch. Carrying the cross. 1515-1516 Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium. wga.hu

An unexpected job for Bosch. Instead of distant horizons and many characters - a very close approximation. Foreground only. The faces are so close to us that you can even feel an attack of claustrophobia.

There are no more monsters. The people themselves are ugly. All their vices are read on their faces. Gloat. condemnation of another. Soul deafness. Aggression.

Note that only three characters have normal traits. Repentant thief in the upper right corner. Christ Himself. And Saint Veronica in the lower left corner.

Hieronymus Bosch. Carrying the cross. Fragment. 1515-1516 Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium. wikipedia.org

They closed their eyes. Having renounced this world, which is filled with a screaming and angry crowd. Only the thief and Christ go to the right, towards death. And Veronica to the left, in the direction of life.

On the handkerchief of Veronica appeared the image of Christ. He looks at us. Sad calm eyes. What does he want to tell us? Did we see ourselves in this crowd? Are we ready to become human? Freed from aggression and judgment.

Bosch was an artist. Yes, he was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Therefore, its main character is a man. Which he considered from all points of view. And from afar. Like in The Garden of Earthly Delights. And very close. Like in Carrying the Cross.

His verdict is not comforting. People are mired in vices. But there is hope. Hope that each of us will find a way to salvation. The main thing is to look at yourself from the outside in time.

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(circa 1460-1516)

Hieronymus Bosch (real name - Hieron van Aken) - one of the most talented artists 15th century. The biography of Hieronymus Bosch is not too complicated and confusing. He spent almost his entire life at home - in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch in North Brabant. Hieronymus Bosch began to teach the art of his grandfather and father, professional painters. Then he visited the Dutch cities of Harlem and Delft, where he perfected his art.

Having become a master painter, in 1480 he returned to his homeland, and thanks to his popularity, already in 1481 he married one of the richest brides in the city. From that time on, the artist got the opportunity to work for himself, but he also had to fulfill traditional orders. Gradually, the work of Hieronymus Bosch spread far beyond the borders of his hometown: the artist was approached with orders from everywhere, including the kings of France and Spain. Every genius has his own secret, and Bosch is no exception. The secret of Hieronymus Bosch is that he was a schizophrenic.

Paintings by Hieronymus Bosch

Paintings by Hieronymus Bosch are generally undated; now we can only roughly outline the main milestones of his work.

Seven deadly sins

One of his famous early works is the painting "The Seven Deadly Sins". In the center of the picture is the figure of Christ, under which is written: "Beware, beware, God sees." Around are images of seven mortal (capable of finally destroying the soul) sins - gluttony, vanity, voluptuousness, anger, laziness, self-interest and envy. Bosch finds an example from life for each of the sins, which is well understood by the viewer: anger illustrated by a scene of a drunken fight: envy appears in the form of a shopkeeper, looking angrily in the direction of a neighbor; greed embodies a judge taking a bribe. It is this picture that shows the death of the most ordinary people;

However, at the edges of the composition there are images of the Last Judgment, Hell, Paradise and Death, as if once again warning people not to commit mortal sins, because they are always followed by retribution.

Carriage of hay

The creation of this painting began in 1500 and lasted about 2 years. At this time, Hieronymus Bosch was already considered a "mature" artist. In the center of the composition is a haystack, around which people are trying to grab at least something from it; most likely, the artist took as a basis the old Dutch proverb "The world is a haystack, and everyone tries to grab as much as he can from it."

The picture is painted on a three-leaved altar, external side surfaces which is described as a symbol of earthly life - a wandering ragged wanderer, who notices all sorts of (both minor and larger) troubles and manifestations of evil on his way.

growls at him angry dog, a passerby is robbed, an execution is carried out on a hill, and black crows are circling over the carrion, but, despite all this, a couple of peasants are dancing to the bagpipes.

In a more expanded form, the image of the sinful world is shown by the open altar - here Hieronymus Bosch depicts not a small part, but the whole path earth history, starting with the rebellion of Satan against God (the scene of the battle in heaven and the overthrow of the rebels), ending with the end of the earthly world.

In the center of the triptych is the earthly world, which personifies a huge cart of hay, which means the short-lived temptations of the world: power, wealth, pleasures, and the like.

In the painting "The Seven Deadly Sins", Hieronymus Bosch expanded the proverb by depicting the harmonious peace of nature in the background, in the sky above which the lonely figure of Christ peeps.

Garden of Delights

At the beginning of the 16th century, Hieronymus Bosch created the "Garden of Delights" - the most famous and mysterious picture. The very traditional stories of the creation of the world, Hell and Paradise, were taken as the basis of the picture, but on the whole the composition turned into something very original. It is located on a three-leaved altar, on the outer surface of the wings of which the Earth is depicted in the form of a transparent sphere on the 3rd day of its creation. The inner left part of the altar wings continues the theme of the creation of the world (4-7 days of creation). On the right side of the wings, Hell is depicted, in the center of which is a “tree of death” growing from a frozen lake. In the center of the painting “The Garden of Delights”, Bosch depicted the so-called “garden of love”, along which many couples in love stroll. The garden shines with its beauty - naked men and women swim in stunning ponds, ride various animals (panthers, deer, griffins).

Hieronymus Bosch

Paintings by Hieronymus Bosch

Bosch, Bos (Bosch) Hieronymus [actually Hieronymus van Aeken, Hieronymus van Aeken] (circa 1450/60-1516), a great Dutch painter. He worked mainly in 's-Hertogenbosch in North Flanders. One of the brightest masters of the early Northern Renaissance.

Hieronymus Bosch in his multi-figured compositions, paintings on themes folk sayings, proverbs and parables combined sophisticated medieval fantasy, grotesque demonic images generated by boundless imagination with realistic innovations unusual for the art of his era.
Bosch's style is unique and unparalleled in the Dutch painting tradition.
The work of Hieronymus Bosch is both innovative and traditional, naive and sophisticated; it captivates people with a sense of some secret known to one artist. "Eminent master" - this is how Bosch was called in 's-Hertogenbosch, to whom the artist remained faithful until the end of his days, although his lifetime fame spread far beyond the borders of his native city.

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

1475-1480 years. Prado Museum, Madrid.

It is believed that this is an early work of Bosch: between 1475 and 1480. The painting "The Seven Deadly Sins" was in Brussels in the collection of De Guevara around 1520 and was acquired by Philip II of Spain in 1670. The painting "The Seven Deadly Sins" hung in the private chambers of King Philip II of Spain, apparently helping him to violently pursue heretics.

A composition of symmetrically arranged circles and two unfolding scrolls, where quotations from Deuteronomy with deep pessimism prophesy about the fate of mankind. In circles - Bosch's first image of Hell and existing in singular interpretation of Heavenly Paradise. The seven deadly sins are depicted in the segments of God's all-seeing eye in the center of the composition, they are given in an emphatically didactic manner.

This work is one of the clearest and most moralizing works of Bosch and is provided with detailed, clarifying quotations from Deuteronomy depicted. Inscribed on the scrolls are the words: "For they are a people who have lost their minds, and there is no meaning in them" And “I will hide my face from them, and I will see what their end will be.”- determine the theme of this pictorial prophecy.

"Ship of Fools" is without a doubt a satire
In the painting "Ship of Fools", a monk and two nuns are shamelessly having fun with the peasants in a boat with a jester as a helmsman. Perhaps this is a parody of the ship of the Church, leading souls to eternal salvation, or perhaps an accusation of lust and intemperance against the clergy.

Passengers of a fantastic ship, sailing to the "Country of Sillyland", personify human vices. The grotesque ugliness of the heroes is embodied by the author in shining colors. Bosch is both real and symbolic. By itself, the world created by the artist is beautiful, but stupidity and evil reign in it.

Most of the plots of Bosch's paintings are connected with episodes from the life of Christ or saints who resist vice, or are gleaned from allegories and proverbs about human greed and stupidity.

Saint Anthony 1500s. Prado Museum, Madrid.

"The Life of St. Anthony", written by Athanasius the Great, tells that in 271 AD. still young, Anthony retired to the desert to live as an ascetic. He lived for 105 years (c. 251 - 356).

Bosch depicted the "earthly" temptation of St. Anthony, when the devil, distracting him from meditation, tempted him with earthly blessings.
His round back, pose, closed with fingers woven into a lock, speak of an extreme degree of immersion in meditation.
Even the devil, in the form of a pig, calmly froze next to Antony, like a tamed dog. So does the saint in Bosch's painting see or not see the monsters that surround him?
They are visible only to us sinners, for "what we contemplate is what we are".

Bosch has an image internal conflict of a person thinking about the nature of Evil, about the best and the worst, about the desired and the forbidden, resulted in a very accurate picture vice. Anthony, with his strength, which he receives by the grace of God, resists a flurry of vicious visions, but can an ordinary mortal resist all this?

In the painting "The Prodigal Son" Hieronymus Bosch interpreted his ideas about life
The hero of the picture - skinny, in a torn dress and different shoes, withered and as if flattened on a plane - is presented in a strange stopped and yet continuing movement.
It is almost written off from nature - in any case, European art before Bosch did not know such an image of poverty - but in the dry emaciation of its forms there is something of an insect.
This is the life that a person leads, with which, even leaving it, he is connected. Only nature remains pure, infinite. The dull color of the painting expresses Bosch's idea - gray, almost grisaille tones unite both people and nature. This unity is natural and natural
.

Bosch in the picture depicts Jesus Christ among the raging crowd, densely filling the space around him with vicious, triumphant physiognomies.
For Bosch, the image of Christ is the personification of boundless mercy, spiritual purity, patience and simplicity. He is opposed by the powerful forces of evil. They subject him to terrible torments, physical and spiritual. Christ shows man an example of overcoming all difficulties.
In terms of its artistic qualities, Carrying the Cross contradicts all pictorial canons. Bosch depicted a scene whose space has lost all connection with reality. Heads and torsos emerge from the darkness and disappear into the darkness.
He translates ugliness, both external and internal, into a certain higher aesthetic category, which, even six centuries later, continues to excite minds and feelings.

In the painting by Hieronymus Bosch “The Crowning with Thorns”, Jesus, surrounded by four tormentors, appears before the viewer with an air of solemn humility. Before execution, two warriors crown his head with a crown of thorns.
The number "four" - the number of depicted tormentors of Christ - stands out among the symbolic numbers with a special richness of associations, it is associated with the cross and the square. Four parts of the world; four Seasons; four rivers in Paradise; four evangelists; four great prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel; four temperaments: sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic.
The four evil faces of the tormentors of Christ are the bearers of the four temperaments, that is, all varieties of people. The two faces above are considered the embodiment of a phlegmatic and melancholic temperament, below - a sanguine and choleric one.

The impassive Christ is placed in the center of the composition, but the main thing here is not him, but the triumphant Evil, who has taken the form of tormentors. Evil appears to Bosch as a natural link in some prescribed order of things.

Hieronymus Bosch Altar "The Temptation of St. Anthony", 1505-1506
The triptych summarizes the main motifs of Bosch's work. The image of the human race, mired in sins and stupidity, and the endless variety of hellish torments awaiting it, is joined here by the Passion of Christ and scenes of the temptation of the saint, who, by the unshakable firmness of faith, allows him to resist the onslaught of enemies - the World, the Flesh, the Devil.

The painting "The Flight and Fall of St. Anthony" is the left wing of the altar "The Temptation of St. Anthony" and tells about the struggle of the saint with the Devil. The artist returned to this theme more than once in his work. Saint Anthony is an instructive example of how to resist earthly temptations, to be on your guard all the time, not to accept everything that seems to be true, and to know that seduction can lead to God's curse.

The Capture of Jesus and the Carrying of the Cross 1505-1506 years. National Museum, Lisbon.

The outer doors of the triptych "The Temptation of St. Anthony"
Left outer wing "The taking of Jesus into custody in the Garden of Gethsemane." Right outer wing "Carrying the Cross".

The central part of the "Temptation of St. Anthony". The space of the picture is literally teeming with fantastic implausible characters.
In that era, when the existence of Hell and Satan was an immutable reality, when the coming of the Antichrist seemed completely inevitable, the intrepid steadfastness of the saint, looking at us from his chapel filled with the forces of evil, should have encouraged people and instilled hope in them.

The right wing of the triptych "Garden of Earthly Delights" got its name "Musical Hell" because of the images of tools used as instruments of torture

The victim becomes the executioner, the prey the hunter, and this is the best way to convey the chaos that reigns in Hell, where the normal relationships that once existed in the world are reversed, and the most ordinary and harmless objects Everyday life, growing to monstrous proportions, turn into instruments of torture.

Hieronymus Bosch Altar "The Garden of Earthly Delights", 1504-1505

The left wing of the triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights" depicts the last three days of the creation of the world and is called "Creation" or "Earthly Paradise".

The artist inhabits a fantastic landscape with many real as well as unreal species of flora and fauna.
In the foreground of this landscape, depicting the antediluvian world, is not a scene of the temptation or expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, but their union by God.
He holds Eve by the hand in the manner of a wedding ceremony. Here Bosch depicts the mystical wedding of Christ, Adam and Eve

In the center of the composition rises the Source of Life - high. a thin, pink structure, decorated with intricate carvings. Glittering in the mud gems, as well as fantastic beasts, probably inspired by medieval ideas about India, which captivated the imagination of Europeans with its miracles since the time of Alexander the Great. There was a popular and fairly widespread belief that it was in India that Eden, lost by man, was located.

The altar "Garden of Earthly Delights" - the most famous triptych of Hieronymus Bosch, which got its name from the theme of the central part, is dedicated to the sin of voluptuousness - Luxuria.
Do not assume that a crowd of naked lovers, according to Bosch's plan, was to become the apotheosis of sinless sexuality. For medieval morality, sexual intercourse, which in the 20th century finally learned to be perceived as a natural part of human existence, was more often proof that a person had lost his angelic nature and fell low. At best, copulation was viewed as a necessary evil, at worst, as a mortal sin. Most likely, for Bosch, the garden of earthly pleasures is a world corrupted by lust.

World creation 1505-1506. Prado Museum, Madrid.

The outer doors of the "Creation of the World" altar "Garden of Earthly Delights". Bosch depicts here the third day of creation: the creation of the earth, flat and round, washed by the sea and placed in a giant sphere. In addition, newly emerged vegetation is depicted.
This rare, if not unique, plot demonstrates the depth and power of Bosch's imagination.

Hieronymus Bosch Altar "Hay Cart", 1500-1502

Paradise, triptych Carriage of hay

The left shutter of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych "The Hay Cart" is dedicated to the theme of the fall of the forefathers, Adam and Eve. The traditional, cult character of this composition is beyond doubt: it includes four episodes from bible book Genesis - the overthrow of the rebellious angels from heaven, the creation of Eve, the fall, the expulsion from Paradise. All scenes are distributed in the space of a single landscape depicting Paradise.

Carriage of hay 1500-1502, Prado Museum, Madrid.

The world is a haystack: Everyone gets as much as they can. The human race appears to be mired in sin, completely rejecting the divine institutions and indifferent to the fate prepared for it by the Almighty.

Hieronymus Bosch's triptych "Hay Carriage" is considered the first of the great satirical-legal allegories of the mature period of the artist's work.
Against the background of an endless landscape, a cavalcade is moving behind a huge hay cart, and among them are the emperor and the pope (with recognizable features of Alexander VI). Representatives of other classes - peasants, townspeople, clerics and nuns - grab armfuls of hay from the cart or fight over it. Christ, surrounded by a golden radiance, is indifferently and aloofly watching the feverish human bustle from above.
No one, except for the angel praying on top of the wagon, notices either the Divine presence or the fact that demons are pulling the cart.

The right shutter of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych "Hay Cart". The image of Hell is found in Bosch's work much more often than Paradise. The artist fills the space with apocalyptic fires and the ruins of architectural buildings, making one think of Babylon - the Christian quintessence of the demonic city, traditionally opposed to the "City of heavenly Jerusalem". In his version of Hell, Bosch relied on literary sources, coloring the motifs drawn from there with the play of his own imagination.

The outer shutters of the altar "Hay Cart" have their own name " life path”and in terms of craftsmanship are inferior to the image on the inner doors and were probably completed by apprentices and students of Bosch
The Path of Bosch's pilgrim runs through a hostile and treacherous world, and all the dangers that it poses are presented in the details of the landscape. Some threaten life, embodied in the images of robbers or an evil dog (however, it can also symbolize slanderers, whose evil tongues are often compared to dog barking). Dancing peasants are an image of a different, moral danger; like lovers on top of a hay cart, they were seduced by the "music of the flesh" and submitted to it.

Hieronymus Bosch "Visions" afterlife", part of the altar "Last Judgment", 1500-1504

Earthly Paradise, composition Vision of the afterlife

In the mature period of creativity, Bosch moves from the image of the visible world to the imaginary one, generated by his indefatigable imagination. Visions appear to him as if in a dream, because the images of Bosch are devoid of physicality, they whimsically combine enchanting beauty and unreal, like in a nightmare, horror: ethereal phantom figures are devoid of earthly gravity and easily fly up. The main characters of Bosch's paintings are not so much people as grimacing demons, scary and at the same time funny monsters.

This is a world beyond control common sense, the kingdom of the Antichrist. The artist translated the prophecies that spread in Western Europe by the beginning of the 16th century - the time when it was predicted End of the world,

Ascension to the Empyrean 1500-1504, Doge's Palace, Venice.

The Earthly Paradise is directly below the Heavenly Paradise. This is a kind of intermediate step, where the righteous are cleansed of the last stains of sin before they appear before the Almighty.

Depicted, accompanied by angels, march to the source of life. Those who have already been saved look up to heaven. In Ascension to the Empyrean, disembodied souls, having got rid of everything earthly, rush to bright light shining above their heads. This is the last thing that separates the souls of the righteous from eternal merging with God, from "the absolute depth of the revealed divinity."

The overthrow of sinners 1500-1504, Doge's Palace, Venice.

"The overthrow of sinners" sinners, carried away by demons, fly down in the darkness. The contours of their figures are barely highlighted by flashes of hellfire.

Many other visions of Hell created by Bosch also seem chaotic, but only at first glance, and upon closer examination, they always reveal logic, a clear structure and meaningfulness.

hell river, composition Visions of the underworld 1500-1504, Doge's Palace, Venice.

In the painting "Hell's River" from the top of a steep cliff, a column of fire beats into the sky, and below, in the water, the souls of sinners helplessly flounder. In the foreground is a sinner, if not yet repentant, then at least thoughtful. He sits on the shore, not noticing the demon with wings, which pulls him by the hand. The Last Judgment - main topic running through all of Bosch's work. He depicts the Last Judgment as a world catastrophe, a night illuminated by flashes of hellish flames, against which monstrous monsters torture sinners.

In the time of Bosch, clairvoyants and astrologers argued that before the second coming of Christ and the Last Judgment took place, the Antichrist would rule the world. Many then believed that this time had already come. The Apocalypse became extremely popular - the Revelation of the Apostle John the Theologian, written during the period of religious persecution in Ancient Rome, a vision of terrifying catastrophes to which God will subject the world for the sins of people. Everything will perish in the cleansing flame.

The painting “Removing the stones of stupidity”, which illustrates the procedure for extracting the stone of madness from the brain, is dedicated to human naivety and depicts the typical quackery of healers of that time. Several symbols are depicted, such as a funnel of wisdom, put on the surgeon's head in mockery, a jug on his belt, a patient's bag pierced by a dagger.

Marriage at Cana

In the traditional plot of the first miracle created by Christ - the transformation of water into wine - Bosch introduces new elements of mystery. A psalm-reader who stands with his hands upraised in front of the bride and groom, a musician in an improvised gallery, a master of ceremonies pointing to fine workmanship ceremonial dishes on display, a servant who faints - all these figures are completely unexpected and unusual for the depicted plot.

Magician 1475 - 1480s. Museum Boymans van Beiningen.

Hieronymus Bosch's "Magician" board is a picture filled with humor, where the faces of the characters themselves and, of course, the behavior of the main actors: an insidious charlatan, a simpleton who believed that he spat out a frog, and a thief, with an indifferent look dragging a bag from him.

The painting “Death and the Miser” was written on the plot, possibly inspired by the well-known in the Netherlands didactic text “Ars moriendi” (“The Art of Dying”), which describes the struggle of devils and angels for the soul of a dying person.

Bosch captures the climax. Death crosses the threshold of the room, an angel calls out to the image of the crucified Savior, and the devil tries to take possession of the soul of the dying miser.