Research Précis & Questions

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Hieronymus Bosch – Religious Zealot or Heretic

The Life of Hieronymus Bosch

The startlingly fantastical paintings of late-gothic artist Hieronymus Bosch have been a source of conflicting interpretations for years. Even his moral stance is disputed. His highly complex, original work clearly shows that religious experience was the primary influence over the subject matter he chose to paint. In order to craft his bizarre style of painting, Bosch incorporates his own interpretation of religious teachings, concentrating on the carnal sins of mankind.

Bosch’s avid use of symbolism and motifs show up in the great majority of his work, and open a window to look into his views of the intertwining of mankind and religion. These vivid images of religion that Bosch concentrates into his work are so bizarre that in the seventeenth century he was reputed to be a heretic. Bosch spares no details in the imagery associated with man being tortured and punished for sin, with stark symbols of retribution and warning. At the same time, he creates images of sin in some works that are very alluring to the viewer, exactly what the Church was trying to avoid showing. With such a strong sense of religion surrounding all aspects of life in the Netherlands during his lifetime it is no wonder that his works display such a vast collage of biblical parables. Using triptychs as his signature form of painting and religious themed subject matter, Bosch was able to become quite famous for his controversial artwork.

Almost every one of his documented works of art appeared in or illustrated a religious setting. These commissions prove that, although some may consider his work heretical, Bosch can hardly be called a heretic. If he were a heretic in any manner, he would not have been offered, nor would he have accepted commissions from the church, or followed biblical stories so closely. Bosch is not a heretic, he is a pessimist. He follows the teachings of the Dutch church during his era, teaching that carnal sins result in going to Hell. His work devoted to the Church along with the scripture-based messages found in his artwork provide enough information to conclude that Bosch did not seek to dissuade others from following the word of God, but instead sought to frighten them and strengthen their devotion to upholding a moral path through life.

Response Prompts:

1. Do you believe Hieronymus Bosch was a heretic or a religious man? Compare and contrast how he portrays the acts of sin and suffering in The Garden of Earthly Delights, and which has more influence over the viewers.

2. Choose one of the works shown in this presentation and develop a bizarre creative story about an absurd sin you (as a character in the piece), committed in order to end up in your predicament of torture in the last panel of the triptych.

3. State any questions you have about Hieronymus Bosch that my presentation left unanswered. Include suggestions of areas that I can add more information about.

Olympia's Look

Based on Vreeland’s portrayal and on my interpretation of this short story, I understand Suzanne Manet’s personality as intensely loyal and straightforward. Although she knew of all Edouard’s other relationships and lusts for the different models he painted, still she remained by his side. Not only this, but the story portrays her as forgiving when she follows through with the auction of all his paintings to gain more popularity for Edourd’s work, through the pain she must endure to have the works copied and further engrained in her mind.

A passage that I found interesting from the text that supports my assertion about who Suzanne Manet is takes place during Edouard’s funeral when Degas said, “He was greater than we thought.” To everyone else at the funeral this comment served as a tribute to Edouard’s great artistic ability and his public image to his close friends. To Suzanne this comment serves as a biting reminder of how well he tried cover his flirtatious and deceitful actions with the other women that she competed with for his affection.

Another passage that I felt captured Suzanne’s emotion and her feeling for the relationship between herself and Edouard describes the pain associated with the role she followed during the days of Edouard’s painting. “It was a bit unnerving – the paintings come to life, the painter dead.” She was forced to see the continuous stream of other women in lasting memory, depicted on the canvas while her tie to her living husband broke away. “After all, that was her place, Suzanne Manet, the wife.” And “A dutiful wife, an acquiescent wife would carry out her husband’s wishes even if they were contrary to her own.” These quotes cause me to think that the Suzanne Manet described in the story did not exert her own free will, and only reacted to the forces and events in her life as they came to her (primarily those brought about by her husband and not her own actions).

In comparison to the short story of “The Yellow Jacket,” I find the writing to be of similar style. Both stories allude to different details of the characters’ lives without simply telling them to the reader. An example of this in “The Yellow Jacket” is when Vreeland talks about the paint on the potato. Without an analysis and background knowledge of the painting community of the time in which the story takes place, readers cannot understand the full meaning of what she writes. There is another level to her writing than what appears in a general scan over the text. I feel that this is a major strength of the writing, slowly leaking out interesting details to those who decide to look for them, instead of just giving them freely without any effort.

Similarly, “Olympia’s Look” is written in a style that does not provide all of the details up front. Personally I would say that Vreeland does not use the method as well as in “The Yellow Jacket” because the first few pages of “Olympia’s Look” are confusing to follow through the choppy dialogue. On the contrary, this writing technique also helps to keep the reader searching for more details and makes them more likely to see subtly written bits of information.

Throughout reading “Olympia’s Look,” I developed a few questions about the characters in the story, primarily whether Suzanne really stood by completely faithful during all of their marriage, and if so I wonder how Suzanne would describe her emotions if I could ask her today what it takes to remain married to someone so blatantly unfaithful as Edouard. I can only imagine.

The Children of the Screen

The unfortunate truth is that Hannah Baylon’s article “Children of the Screen” strikes remarkably close to the daily routines of most Americans. One of the primary reasons for this shift in our culture may be addressed with the cliché term saying that “times have changed.” The reality is that times have changed, and we cannot stand to have idle time. Instead of appreciating silence and rest for what it is we try to drown it out with noise and activity. Life nowadays has become such a blur with constant activity that we eventually become numb and apathetic to our natural surroundings, so completely immersed in our own redundant tasks.

I myself can testify to the screen-based environment overruling the other aspects of my life. Instead of having desire to go out and play in the grass or make vast cities out of mud like I once did, I find myself drifting to thoughts about movies and anything related to monitors. Even now as I write this paper, I am not really writing, instead I am typing, but because of the way the term has changed, now “writing a letter” involves moving little more than our finger tips as we tap out a message and send it without even rising out of our seats.

At this point we should not concentrate so much on promoting about the damage our current routines are inflicting with all these statistics and research projects addressing the matter, which in itself is slightly hypocritical; these are just more activities that waste more time in front of more screens. We instead need to escape. We need to break out of our perfectly partitioned schedules that choreograph every movement of our days and go explore everything else the world has to offer.

I am completely agreeing that we are addicted to repetitious work and mindless entertainment, and as with any addiction, we cannot hope to instantly break the cycle and be done with our current ways. We must instead take slow steps away from the screens, away from our full time work, and take a breath.

I know myself that I have struggled with this issue throughout my eighteen years of life. How can you escape the ease of slipping back and having to put forth no effort to watch whatever informational or mindless program you want without even moving thirty feet in your own home? Certainly many escape their televisions, but do they also escape from email? From cell phones? The cell phone is what kills me. Every so often I shut it off and hide it away, but still I wonder if someone needs to contact me for any important reason. The era of communication and networking cannot be easily broken, but it can be shaped and monitored.

One of the hardest parts of this shift in culture is watching millions of other individuals shift together and try to fit the culture they feel is expected of them. Rare are the mountain climbers, the bikers, and the runners, and even rarer are those who participate in said outdoor activities for no profitable gain. The best therapeutic program for anyone suffering from screen-ititus is to take a weekend alone or with close family and go out camping. Not just at a campground, but at a site away from any vehicles including the infamous motor homes, a chance to sit in the wilderness and have no idea you are there because of the three televisions sitting in front of you.

In conclusion: We should use a little more effort in order to save ourselves from the killer robots that are feeding on our constant use of technology until they one day strike out and the oracle’s prophecy runs true. “There is no spoon.” – The young boy of The Matrix.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

After enjoying this film I realized that quite a few scenes hooked my attention, and I am unable to only write about the most notable one scene. Therefore I will write a little on one of my favorites, and a substantial portion on my overall favorite scene.

The first passage that intrigued me is the one of the butterfly only nine minutes into the film. Lord Henry Wotton mesmerizes Mr. Gray with his speech of how to live life properly, for fun and personal enjoyment, and that youth is the most important aspect of life. Some of his more notable and repetitious quotes are provided for your amusement:

“There’s only one way to get rid of a temptation and that’s to yield to it.”

“Youth is the one thing worth having.”

“There’s only one thing in the world worth having, and that is youth.”

This scene transitions to the scene of the butterfly, with the butterfly being captured and killed simply for its beauty. The magnified picture of the dying insect struggling for life, but helpless to escape its death is a slightly eerie image and pulled on my emotions.

Although I enjoyed many other small sections throughout the film, my favorite picture segment of the film took place seventy-three minutes into the film when Dorian commits murder in a panic. Leading into the climactic portion of the scene, Dorian unveils the new, monstrous painting to Mr. Hallward, and the narrator states, “It was as if some model leprosy were eating the thing away.” Mr. Hallward responds by asking of Dorian, “Each of us has heaven and hell. Do you know how to pray Dorian?” Realizing he cannot let his secret escape, he kills Mr. Hallward. “Like a cornered animal” he struck with fear, the music crescendos, and the lighting, the most notable aspect of the segment, accents the message of the scene. The slow, rustic swinging of the lamp vastly alters the appearance of Dorian as he stands over his kill, shifting the background and foreground in and out of shadow, and casting the still silhouette of Basil Hallward on the pale wall. The steady creaking of the lamp keeps the tension of the segment at its peak as Dorian moves across the room to cleanse himself of the blood with an embroidered towel displaying the first line of a poem by Mother Goose, “Little Boy Blue Come Blow Your Horn.” The light in this passage helps to shine new light into the personality of Mr. Dorian Gray, showing both his light, proper and clean image, and his shaded, hidden alternative personality to the audience. As Dorian moves back to the painting, and the narrator utters the single “It was if the painting had sweated a dew of blood.” He covers the painting and locks away the sins once more.

These passages relate to the overall plot of the film because the portrait of Dorian shows the negative consequences of both his actions and his aging on its canvas, instead of on the living being of Mr. Gray. Dorian realizes that his sinful actions, although lacking in repercussions for him, in the end are destroying him, and attempts to confess. Unfortunate for him, the time has passed for redemption and Dorian kills himself.

Good Ol' Portrait 17

This picture drew my attention over the others because of the mystique that poured out from its image. My initial question - Why is the man divided and duplicated? This single question provided me with enough thoughts to go onto hundreds of different tangents, but here is my favorite of his conceivable histories:

The man is in a continual search to discover who he is and what his purpose is. His mind cannot fully attach to a single personality and a single lifestyle, but instead is stretched between two – the one he lives and the one he would like to bring into being. The most evident artistic technique to me is not actually the painted aspects of the work, but instead the empty lines that grid out this portrait. The artist utilizes this technique seemingly to show the viewer how torn the man is and how he is split between multiple paths in life. The hundreds of small divisions add complexity to his character and what is present in his image.

His glasses and hair style both help to develop a scholarly personality. He is formally dressed, and yet leaves his collar unbuttoned as though he is not comfortable being completely proper. He has his beautiful home with wood floors, vaulted ceilings, and a multitude of books, but he chooses a simplistic wicker chair as his perch. He is educated and wealthy, but not arrogant. Quite frankly he appears bored within the confines of his study. Instead of burying himself in one of the hundreds of books in his extensive library, he instead finds more interest in what lies out in the distance away from his current lifestyle. The man’s pose and posture cause him to seem relaxed and serene. There are no sharp angles or protrusions in the painting and everything flows smoothly together. His fingers are lightly folded together in his lap and his legs crossed in reserve.

Complementing the grid lines, the artist also divided the man’s portrait with brush strokes, smearing together and replicating certain features of the man to strengthen the meaning. Of the duplicated features, the most prominent is the facial region, showing divided heads on a literal level and figuratively suggesting dual mindsets. Other duplications do exist in his portrait: slight deviations from the primary picture in the legs, arms, and torso, but they do not pull much attraction comparatively to the facial split.

The man’s gaze is very telling in the portrait, as he is apparently searching for something on the horizon instead of focusing on a level plane with the viewer. He is not exhibiting any degree of excitement or impatience to find what he is searching for in his eyes. I think the word that best describes his outlook is hopeful – hopeful that change will come to his drab life stuck in the confines of proper etiquette, mannerisms, and his scholarly ways. The splits and attitude of the man help to give the message that he has not become complacent with the comforts of style and wealth he already possesses, and still searches for new meaning in life.