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Bosch's Garden of Delights
by Lynn Englar
Theories & Controversies
There's a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It would also
appear that interpreting Bosch is in the eye of the beholder. The large
wealth of material regarding Bosch and specifically "The Garden of
Earthly Delights," located in the Prado, Madrid, has many interpretations
and contradictions. The literature does refer to the same iconography
and/or sections of the triptych that validate the individual authors'
theories, and offers some correlations that deserve exploration. This
paper will cover a few specific theories of isolated subjects and areas
within the altarpiece.
It is understandable that such varied interpretations of Bosch's work
exist when the historical aspects of his lifetime are considered. The
Late Gothic period in the Netherlands was riddled with political and religious
turmoil and uncertainty. The end of the 15th century was a time when many
believed the end of the world was eminent (Synder, 1973, 76) and the future
was something to dread. Religion and politics were one unit and were starting
to be questioned. Science, astronomy, medicine and heretic sects, all
of which are referenced when interpreting Bosch, were making an impact.
Yet many of the ideas being explored were translated through the ideals,
beliefs and iconography of church.
Since it is unknown what Bosch's views were and the religious/political
climate was so dynamic, the only thing left for scholars is speculation.
The two known facts about Bosch were his membership in the Brotherhood
of Our Lady, a devoutly religious group, and that his father-in-law was
a pharmacist. The theories formulated from studying his work include him
being a strict moralist, who believes that mankind will be eternally punished
for their sins; that he was a member of a free-love sect called the 'Adamites';
as well as "references to astrology, folklore, witchcraft and alchemy"(Microsoft
®Encarta, 1). Each viewpoint has valid foundations considering the
era, the complexity of Bosch's images, and the unknown beliefs of the
artist.
It is necessary to briefly summarize the term 'alchemy' since it is vital
to understanding how many scholars have interpreted Bosch's work. Stillman
explains that alchemy combined chemical and medical practices. (Stillman,
355) Predominate ideas of the alchemical philosophy include the belief
that death is a necessary purification process that enables birth. This
purification required perfect balance of the four basic elements of the
world and on a human level, balance of the four humors. Achieving this
balance required the combination of vegetable, animal and mineral substances
(Dixon, 26). Accordingly, alchemists believed the combination of opposites
created an "'elixir', sometimes called the Lapis" (Ibid, 23)
that parallels symbolically with Christ (Jung, 300) and was the ultimate
cure all. Dixon says "alchemical theory maintained that substances,
like human beings, reproduced in a mystical marriage or conjunction of
opposites"(Dixon, 23) This included heaven/ hell, black/white, love/hate,
birth/ death and male/ female to name a few.
It is undisputed by most analysts that alchemy influenced Bosch due to
the massive amount of glass tubes, balls, and instruments throughout his
art. It is the more common symbols such as the fruit, eggs, animals and
even the nudes that allow for such diversity in explanations.
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