THE GUARDIAN
By Jonathan Jones
 |
| A detail from the central panel of The Garden of Earthly Delights. Photograph: Museo del Prado |
The
Garden of Earthly Delights by
Hieronymus Bosch is a triptych that can be folded open. When closed, it shows a monochrome painting of the creation of the world, with God looking down on a flat landscape sealed inside a giant bubble. The most hypnotic and perplexing scene, however, is the huge central panel, which depicts a dreamlike landscape of carnal bliss where people cavort naked, consume giant strawberries, explore pink flesh palaces and ride barebacked on fantastic creatures. A book of the Prado’s own Bosch quincentenary
published this month by Thames and Hudson. [
link]
Comments