Northern Art
Master of Flemalle (Robert Campin) — St. John the Baptist (San Jaun Bautista)

The meticulous detail is the first thing we notice in Northern art. Not only are the wood, the glass, and the cloth done with loving care, but look at the curved mirror in the middle — the whole scene is reflected backwards in perfect detail!
Roger Van Der Weyden — Descent From the Cross (El Descendimiento)

Christ is lowered from the Cross by his heartbroken followers. Each of the faces is a different study in grief. Joseph of Arimathea (holding Christ’s feet) seems to be asking, “Why do the good always die young?” The bulging veins in his forehead signal his distress. Mary has swooned in the same S-curve as Jesus’ body — t he death of her son has dealt her a near-fatal blow as well. But the overwhelming tone of the scene is one of serenity. These are people of Northern piety who know and accept that Jesus must die.

Along with Titian’s nudes, this was one of Phillip II’s favorite paintings — quite a contrast! Yet this Descent and Titian’s Danae both have the power to send us into ecstasy. Hmm.

* Continue to Room 56a.

Bosch (c. 1450-1516)

The work of Hieronymous Bosch can be summed up in one word — wow. It’s difficult to be more articulate because his unique vision lends itself to so many different interpretations.

Bosch (rhymes with “Gosh!”) was born, lived, and died in a small town in Holland — that’s about all we know of him, his life being as mysterious as his work. He was much admired by his contemporaries, who understood his symbolism better than we.

Here are some possible interpretations of Bosch’s work. He was: (1) crazy; (2) commenting on the decadence of his day; (3) celebrating the variety of life and human behavior; (4) painting with toxins in a badly ventilated room. Or perhaps it’s a combination of these.
Bosch — The Hay Cart (El Carro de Heno)

Before unraveling the cryptic triptych The Garden of Delights , let’s warm up on a “simpler” three-paneled work. Its message is that the pleasures of life are transitory, so we’d better avoid them or we’ll wind up in hell.

Center Panel: An old Flemish proverb goes, “Life is a cart of hay from which everyone takes what they can.” The whole spectrum of greedy, grabby humanity is here: rich and poor, monks and peasants, scrambling for their share of worldly goods. Even the pope and the Holy Roman emperor (with the sword) chase the cart on horseback. In the very center, a man holds a knife at another man’s throat, getting his share by force. Two lovers on top of the cart are oblivious to the commotion but are surrounded by symbols of hate (the owl) and lust (the jug). The cart itself is drawn by Satan’s demons.

With everyone fighting for his piece of the pie, it’s easy to overlook the central figure — Christ above in heaven, watching unnoticed. Is He blessing them or throwing up His hands?

Left: The left panel tells us where this crazy world of temptation came from. “Read” the panel from top to bottom. At the top, God fumigates Heaven, driving Satan’s vermin out and setting them loose on earth. Then God creates Eve from Adam’s rib, Eve gets tempted by a (female) serpent, and finally, they’re driven from Paradise. It was this first sin that brought a hay-cart’s-worth of evil into the world.

Right: Here’s the whole point of Bosch’s sermon — worldly pleasures lead to hell. Animal-like demons symbolizing various vices torture those who succumbed to the temptation of hay cart planet Earth.

* With this traditional Christian interpretation in mind, let’s enter the Garden of Delights (same room — #56a).

Bosch — The Garden of Delights (El Jardin de las Delicias)
The Garden of Delights

The Garden can be interpreted like The Hay Cart; that is, the pleasures of the world are transitory, so you’d better watch out or you’ll wind up in hell. With so many figures, the painting is overwhelming. To make it less so, I’d suggest “framing off” one-foot squares to peruse at your leisure.

Central panel: Men on horseback ride round and round, searching for but never reaching the elusive Fountain of Youth. Lower down and to the left are two lovers in a bubble that — like love — could burst at any time. Just to their right is a big mussel shell, a symbol of the female sex, swallowing up a man. My favorite is the kneeling figure in front of the orange pavilion in the foreground — talk about “saying it with flowers!”

Bosch was certainly a Christian, but there’s speculation he was a heretical Christian painting forbidden rites of a free-wheeling cult called Adamites. The Adamites were medieval nudists who believed the body was good (as it was when God made Adam) and that sex was healthy. They supposedly held secret orgies. So, in the central panel we see Adamites at play, frolicking across the meadow in twosomes and threesomes, as innocent as Adam and Eve in the garden. Whether or not Bosch approved, you must admit that some of the folks in this Garden are having a delightful time.

Left panel: This “Adamist” interpretation makes a lot of sense in the left panel. Here, the main scene, is the fundamental story of the Adamites — the marriage (sexual union) of Adam and Eve. God himself performs the ceremony, wrapping them in the glowing warmth of His aura.

One of the differences between The Hay Cart and The Garden of Delights is Columbus. Discoveries of new plants and animals in America gave Bosch a whole new continent of sinful pleasures to paint — some real, some imaginary. Check out the cactus tree in the Garden of Eden and the bizarre two-legged dog near the giraffe.

Right panel: Hell is a burning, post-holocaust wasteland of genetic mutants and meaningless rituals where sinners are tortured by half-human demons. Poetic justice reigns supreme, with every sinner getting his just desserts — a glutton is eaten and re-eaten eternally, while a musician is crucified on a musical instrument for neglecting his church duties. Other symbols are less obvious. Two big ears pierced with a knife blade mow down all in the way. A pink bagpipe symbolizes the male and female sex organs (call Freud for details). At lower right a pig dressed as a nun tries to seduce a man.

In the center of this wonderful nightmare, hell is literally frozen over. A creature with a broken eggshell body, tree trunk legs, a witch’s cap stares out at us — it’s the face of Bosch himself.

* In the same room (#56a), look for Brueghel’s work.