Two works of art that I found to be compelling are The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Netherlandish Proverbs. Both pieces address human morality and the consequences of poor decisions. These pieces are both extraordinary in their complexity, details, and thoughtfulness. Each provides endless observation and interpretation by the viewer.
Hieronymus Bosch’s painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, is oil on oak panels, measuring 220 cm × 389 cm. Finished in 1505, the piece is a triptych, constructed in three panels hinged at the sides. When closed, the scene is a grayscale translucent image of the earth, sky, and sea before man appeared. When opened, the three panels show a colorful interior bursting with naked men and women, odd creations, …show more content…
There are three panels. Each panel has three realms-- heaven, descent and Earth-- that are illustrated on a vertical continuum. In the last panel the three realms of Hell, purgatory, and earth are presented from top to bottom. There are three blue mountains, three headed animals, and three initial people, one of whom, God, holds up three fingers.
Bosch has filled the space of The Garden of Earthly Delights with color and activity. Each object has been carefully placed and drawn to have specific meaning. The front and inside first two panels are similar and balanced while the third stands out in color and subject. Movement varies from slow and peaceful in the first panel, to energetic in the second, to chaotic and tense in the third. Endless observations can be made of the details put into this masterpiece.
A similarly energetic painting is Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Netherlandish Proverbs. It is oil-on-panel, measuring 117 x 163 cm. Painted in 1559, The Netherlandish Proverbs includes visual representations of about one hundred individual proverbs or words of wisdom. It has also been titled The Blue Cloak, for one of the scenes, and The Folly of the World, because of the foolish behavior of most of the
Hieronymus Bosch’s painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, is oil on oak panels, measuring 220 cm × 389 cm. Finished in 1505, the piece is a triptych, constructed in three panels hinged at the sides. When closed, the scene is a grayscale translucent image of the earth, sky, and sea before man appeared. When opened, the three panels show a colorful interior bursting with naked men and women, odd creations, …show more content…
There are three panels. Each panel has three realms-- heaven, descent and Earth-- that are illustrated on a vertical continuum. In the last panel the three realms of Hell, purgatory, and earth are presented from top to bottom. There are three blue mountains, three headed animals, and three initial people, one of whom, God, holds up three fingers.
Bosch has filled the space of The Garden of Earthly Delights with color and activity. Each object has been carefully placed and drawn to have specific meaning. The front and inside first two panels are similar and balanced while the third stands out in color and subject. Movement varies from slow and peaceful in the first panel, to energetic in the second, to chaotic and tense in the third. Endless observations can be made of the details put into this masterpiece.
A similarly energetic painting is Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Netherlandish Proverbs. It is oil-on-panel, measuring 117 x 163 cm. Painted in 1559, The Netherlandish Proverbs includes visual representations of about one hundred individual proverbs or words of wisdom. It has also been titled The Blue Cloak, for one of the scenes, and The Folly of the World, because of the foolish behavior of most of the