Over the holidays, Mrs. Fish and I were looking at some of Bosch's artwork, The Garden of Earthly Delights (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/delightc.jpg) and Hell (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/delightr.jpg)) and I made the statement that they looked like something an individual on drugs would produce.

Mrs. Fish said something very thought-provoking for me. She said that Bosch might not have been on drugs, but he had the next best (or worst) thing: his monastic lifestyle as a religious or a secular religious. I asked her what she meant:Inadequate sleep; bad food; long hours of enforced isolation; improper maintenance of the body; no sexual outlet; intense fear of Divine judgement. Put that all together and it'd be enough to send anybody just a tad over the edge.I'd never thought about that before, but it seems to make sense. Since I am no expert on Bosch (or medieval Flemish painters of any type, for that matter), I thought I'd put it to you all - what do you think? Would Bosch's austere lifestyle and goofy diet make him paint these bizarre pictures, or is my wife way out in left field? I mean, you also have guys like Francisco Goya, Edvard Munch, and Salvador Dali who painted some pretty strange stuff, but they didn't have austere lifestyles, so what gives?

:m: Peace.

Well, a lack of sex is certainly giving me some odd thoughts! :eek:

He was my favorite artist in my youth.
Drugs happen!

It doesn't take much ergot rye spores to turn an entire grainery of flour into something akin to LSD.

As I understand it Bosch as well as other artists (Bellini, Giorgione, Titian) were influenced by Horapollo's Hieroglyphica, which would explain the symbolism imo. Bosch's piece (The Garden of Earthly Delights (http://www.tebreitenbach.com/art/gardenofdelights.jpg)) is what is called a triptych (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=triptych*1+0) and is the center panel. Here is how it breaks down:

Creation of the World (Outer wings) (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/delighto.jpg)

The Earthly Paradise (Left Wing) (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/delightl.jpg)

Garden of Earthly Delights (Center panel) (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/delightc.jpg)

Hell (Right wing) (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight/delightr.jpg)

I thought this quote might be of interest. It's from a book called; The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy and Mysticism. On the page across from where the quote is located there is a picture of Bosch's Creation of the World.

"The (Philosophers') Stone is made in the image of the Creation of the World. For one must have it's chaos and its prime matter, in which the elements float hither and thither, all mixed together, until they are separated by the fiery spirit. And when this has happened, the light is lifted up, while the heavy is brought downwards." (J. d'Espagnet, Das Geheime Werk, Nuremburg, 1730)

Originally posted by Don H
It doesn't take much ergot rye spores to turn an entire grainery of flour into something akin to LSD.Good thought. As part of his monastic lifestyle, Bosch would probably have depended on plain bread for much of his sustenance -- and ergot poisoning was common at times in Europe, and certainly in his century. It also just occurred to me that many oil paints have highly toxic components, including lead and mercury. Add to this that up until the late 1800s (IIRC), artists had to mix their own colors, which would involve direct contact with poisonous compounds.Originally posted by EvilPoet
Bosch as well as other artists... were influenced by Horapollo's Hieroglyphica, which would explain the symbolism imo. Bosch's piece (The Garden of Earthly Delights) is...I find it amusing that we don't even know what Bosch called this painting. The earliest reference to it calls it "The Strawberry Plant". "The Garden of Earthly Delights" is a much later name, and seems to have become the standard name. I've seen one book that calls this "The Sinful Descendants of Adam" (despite the fact that nobody actually seems to be sinning in the entire panel).

To me, it seems as though the various fruits (strawberry and cherry included) are associated with sex and sexual indulgence. Whether this was viewed by Bosch as a Good thing or a Bad thing will probably never be known. We can only ask what it represents to the viewer, or what many scholars believe it represents. For all we know, Bosch found a sale on red paint at his local Flemish paint store, and if he had painted it the previous month when orange was on sale, we'd have had pumpkins being tossed around Eden.

The interpretation of the elements of this painting is not a simple or straightforward task. I make out punishments for at least four of the seven cardinal sins in the right-hand "Hell" panel, near the Bird in the Throne (some people think that's Satan. I'm not one of them.) But you don't see those sins being committed in the central panel. but that panel is, indeed, brimming with sexual imagery - look at the men on the animals in the circular "race" around the Pool of Women in the center; some of the animal heads look as if they're subbing for penises. There are fruits balanced everywhere, and someone is having flowers shoved into his rectum.

So what does it all mean? I don't know, but it's fun to look at this work.

:m: Peace.

Originally posted by goofyfish
it's fun to look at this work.
I agree. As I stated in the subject line of
my last post - I love this kind of art. :D

i like him very much, however my favorite artist is Carravagio. he's the best. (wasn't a bad looking fellow, either..)

I'm more of an Escher guy, but these paintings are very cool.

His work The seven deadly sins is as direct as a political cartoon but the Garden of Delights...whew . if we could only ask him.

If you are an Escher guy I have a couple works of mine in an Escher museum in Connecticut. Last I heard it was being moved to of all places Greece.

You see I did some violins up with Escher designs.

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/customviolins/

Don?? what?? you have exhibits with Escher's? too cool. :) have you gotta link?

oh, wait...*slaps palm to forhead* silly me...i see it. thanks. i will peruse your links now. bye.:)

Thought you guys might enjoy these links. :)

ArtMagick (http://www.artmagick.com)

Web Gallery of Art (http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/)

Artcyclopedia (http://www.artcyclopedia.com)