Hieronymus Bosch
The Garden of Earthly Delights
c. 1490–1510
Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' (c. 1490–1510) is a three-panel oil on oak painting in which Paradise on the left, a teeming earthly 'garden' of naked bodies and fantastic creatures at the centre, and a nightmarish Hell on the right form a single allegorical sermon on sin and salvation. The swarming detail, the invented hybrid monsters, and the erotic ambiguity of the central panel have kept interpretations contentious for five centuries. It is the undisputed masterpiece of the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Exhibition Venue
Image source: Wikimedia Commons