We had our fifteen minutes with it, by ourselves, before a video-team arrived. At the Prado, you sometimes have to elbow your way in just to spend a minute with The Garden of Earthly Delights. At the Academy the Last Judgement is just standing there on a podium, in a large vacant room, fully opened, no big barrier, no glass, no bullet-proof shield. I suppose you really could touch it if you were that kind of person. Anyhow, we had our fifteen minutes, luxuriating in the myriad scenes and mysteries, took some pix, and moved on, very pleased with our experience. Oil on wood panel. Dendrochronology suggests it was not created before 1482. As always, click to enlarge.
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Sorry about the glare; there was no way around it in a naturally-lit
room |
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Left panel: at the top God, then battling angels, the bad
angels being cast out and turned into devils |
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| Meanwhile, back in the Biblical paradise, Eve being created |
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| The Bad Apple thing |
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| And the Expulsion (into the dark forest...) |
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Central panel: God/Jesus/Holy Spirit assisted by
Mary and John, judging; the few who are saved are
right up there with them in the bluish mandorla/
bubble...paucitas salvandorum, multitudo damnadorum...
few saved, many damned, as they said way back then |
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So you'd think the central panel would be mostly about judging
and the assorted acts that get you saved/damned... |
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| But no, Bosch gets us right into punishment |
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| Piercing was really big back then too |
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| Fun slide to Hell |
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| Then, in the right panel, things get really bad |
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| Parting image |
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As advised in a previous post, always look on the back side of
the wings for the grisaille images; these are what is seen except on
the special occasions when the whole triptych is opened |
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| St. James, wandering |
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| St. Bevo, being charitable |
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| Me, doing my thing |
1 comment:
Don't you wonder about Bosch's childhood and upbringing for him to imagine all these grotesque scenes?
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