Hieronymus Bosch · ca. 1490–1510 · Detail Central panel · Museo del Prado

Hieronymus Bosch and The Garden of Earthly Delights

The Garden of Earthly Delights — a reading in instalments

I A masterpiece and a devilish piece The Garden of Earthly Delights is complex and detailed, yet not complicated
II Psychology I: A Wheel of the Senses Not entirely obvious, indeed concealed, yet extensively and ingeniously staged
III Psychology II: The ‘Hub’ of the Wheel of the Five Senses The Five Senses have a disreputable ‘guide and judge’
IV The Code of Conduct for Understanding and Behaviour Body posture as a moral distinction: the categories ‘upright’ and ‘crooked’ – with Adam as the model
V Upside down into the glimmer of hell Or is there still a chance to take off that wicked dress?
VI Psychology III: The Mental Faculty of Reason Poor Conditions: What the Soul Does with the Signals from the Five Senses
VII When the senses dominate the mind The Soul in Sleep and Dreams – Imagination, Memory and Evil Fantasy
VIII The Dream of Life On the art of finding salvation even in the sleep of reason
IX Sex and fantasy The imagination captivates the willing viewer – and is denounced as diabolical and bizarre
X Time structure part I: A heartbeat away When timeless eternity and the brevity of a butterfly’s flap of wings coincide
XI Doubts? Doubts! Bosch research is paved with errors – how could it be any different this time?
XII Other doubts and objections Is every effort in vain? Is the Bosch Garden a hidden-object picture without any precise meaning?
XIII Further objections and wrong turns The Garden of Earthly Delights and the new ‘Promethean shame’
XIV The Musical Hell Sonorous aspects of a vision of doom: the Hell panel
XV The butt music is mock music Or is this a caricature of the modern music that was played in the chapel of Bosch’s brotherhood?

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