Garden of earthly delights

(c. 1505-1510; Madrid, Prado)

   Created by Hieronymus Bosch, the Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych that speaks of the consequences of immoral behavior. It shows in the central panel nude males and females indulging in worldly pleasures. To the left is the Creation of Eve in Eden and to the right a depiction of hell. Here, a monstrous figure devours and defecates the souls of sinners, a detail that has been recognized to stem from the Visione Tondalus, a medieval narrative provided by an Irish Benedictine monk known only as Marcus who resided in the Cistercian Monastery of St. James in Regensburg. When the panels are closed, the scene depicted is the third day of Creation. Several attempts have been made to explain fully the meaning of the work. One suggestion is that it relates to the beliefs of the Adamites, a sect that originated in the second century that advocated a return to the simplicity of life in the Garden of Eden. Saint Augustine described their practices in his writings, stating that the Adamites referred to their church as paradise, they rejected marriage as it did not exist in Eden, believed in sexual freedom, and worshiped in the nude. Others relate the work to the four stages of the alchemical processes, as the architectural forms in Bosch's painting resemble alchemical vessels.