In this article, McDermon highlights on the various surviving paintings done by Hieronymus Bosch many years ago that are now on the display in his hometown in the Netherlands. Hieronymus Bosch, who was a Dutch painter, died 500 years ago, and in commemorating this occasion, his hometown made the decision of assembling his first major exhibition to display for a least a few centuries. Through his major works, Bosch paintings were depicting human depravity and divine punishment basing on the perverse imagination. The article entirely sets out to highlight these surviving paintings by Bosch, which thus sends the message on what true art was about, contrary to what art is in the present days, hence the topic “Art Gone to Hell.”
According to the sample of Bosch’s painting, art was entirely a depiction or form of a critic to the evils that human performed in their daily lives. The theoretical framework used to depict this evil is through highlighting on human depravity and the divine punishment that awaits them. The first concept of human depravity is evident through Bosch’s painting titled “The Last Judgement.” In this painting, Bosch was frequently working on biblical themes when depicting a handful of good people at the left that would soon get their reward in the form of salvation. The remaining major population were subject to depict as fools and sinners, who were similarly awaiting their reward of eternal punishment and suffering. Bosch depicts the eternal suffering that awaits the sinners with the wide landscapes that are packed with infernal machinery and invented monstrosities. Such depictions in the form of art made Bosch receive credit for being a powerful influence of the 20th-centurty Surrealism (McDermon 01).
In his paintings, Bosch uses demons, tormentors and malefactors, portraying them alongside animal parts such as heads of birds and bodies of fish, or portraying them alongside the misplaced human limbs. The lower central panel shows a clog that becomes a sailboat, of which its passengers seem reluctant to disembark. It serves as an indication of how sinners in the society are unwilling to change for the better, hence willing to continue riding in their sinful lives to death. Bosch details his paintings on the Dutch phrases or the customs of the day, rather than choosing to address the main theme of the work directly. The squat reptilians that he uses in these depictions of punishment to evil seem to be having an unlimited appetite for the human flesh.
In another surviving painting by Bosch, titled “The Haywain,” Bosch sketches the 16th-century moral universe basing in stark terms. The sketching begins with a retelling of the Garden of Eden story. The centre of this depiction has a hulking hay wagon, which is the common symbol in art that indicates fleeting and transient things in life, also opposite to the weightier matter of eternity. People continue sinning, fornicating, and fighting on the left side of the panel. An easily overlooked group of demons located on the right also pulls this wagon towards the inferno. Just as in the previous painting, this one too shows hellhounds such as pointy-booted fish-demons in many colors waiting to greet the sinners. Bosch’s demons also have the capability of both torturing fallen souls and expanding hell’s capacity for the future generations of the unfortunate persons.
In the final highlighted painting of Bosch, titled “Triptych of the Hermit Saints,” the saints and hermits were subject to depict heroically as being the models of lesser mortals for people to emulate. They were also prized because of their ability to deny the appetites of flesh even when temptations are many. As an example, in the left panel, there is a depiction of St. Anthony the Abbot to resist the temptation of evil. St. Anthony the Abbot appears wholly untempted by a nude woman standing beside him while there is also a fish-demon that is pouring the wine. The demonic figures that are below St. Anthony all appear resigned due to his lack of interest. Bosch in such painting thus sends a message that demons will be unhappy if people choose to live the righteous life by abandoning evil (Kakadelas 19).
Bosch’s position in these themes remains clear that people should turn away from evil deeds for them to receive an eternal reward of salvation. People should also learn to persevere and remain faithful irrespective of the pain and suffering that they encounter for them to receive salvation. Entirely, Bosch’s paintings send the wholesome message of faith through art. When compared to other renowned artists, I think that Bosch’s work was good in both appreciating positive and criticizing negative deeds respectively. The style employed by Bosch in his paintings is clear and straightforward for the viewer to understand the message.
Conclusion
Bosch’s work in these paintings advances people’s knowledge on the subject of art. Here, he educates people on the good use of art, such as criticizing evil and praising good. However, the concept is contrary to the modern use of art whereby art is in use to serve the political and social interests of the few in society. There is overall need for artists to start using art in constructive ways to regain to the good image of art.
Works Cited
Kakadelas, Kirsten. Hieronymus Bosch's Saint Giles Within the Hermit Saints Triptych. , 2004. Print.
McDermon, Daniel. "Art Gone to Hell: A Boschian Bestiary - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., 4 Mar. 2016. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
