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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.
I do not believe Hieronymus Bosch was a heretic. First of all, he portrayed hell in a very vivid manner, clearly showing the types of torture and pain hell inflicts. These types of paintings were commissioned by the church because of their promotion of heaven as a highly preferable after death location. If Bosch were a heretic he wouldn’t depict hell in such a horrific manner because it agrees with the church’s teachings.
ReplyDeleteAlso, his alluring images of sin, although they dispute the church, simply tell the truth. I believe that people are so attracted to sin because it will cause them joy and pleasure that they would not otherwise receive. If sin were not such a tempting type of behavior then no one would ever do it. Therefore it only makes sense that sinful acts would be appealing to the public. Plus, when these images of happiness and indulgence are paired with the repercussions present in hell, it shows exactly how giving into your appetite will effect your afterlife. This combination of good versus bad images proves to people that their immediate pleasure may result in eternal damnation and this is not a likeable thought.
Bosch’s painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, is a perfect example of people indulging in a sinful life and suffering the ramifications. The middle panel shows the gluttony of human beings, be it a gluttonous appetite, sexual desire or other overindulgence. Everyone looks joyful and has a smile on their face. The sun is shining and the grass is green; basically, that is the life. In the third panel, however, the smiles have faded and the sun is nowhere to be seen. It is obvious that the mood has changed simply by the darker colors displayed in that panel of the painting. There are appalling images of people eaten alive, receiving colonoscopies via fiddles and having pins and other sharp objects thrust into their bodies. This is obviously not the kind of afterlife people pray for! I think that the stronger image is the agonizing one. People can experience pleasure and happiness even without sinful acts but no one hopes for an eternal life in excruciating pain or suffering.
I think that although the church did not agree with Bosch in all aspects of his work, they understood that he was promoting their lessons and giving a visual rendition of their sermons. If the church did not understand this they would not have commissioned his paintings in the first place. I also believe that Bosch was trying to portray the most realistic and truthful version of a given persons life decisions. If he were to show the act of sin as un-enjoyable then people would not have been able to truly relate to his subjects or understand his message.
Hieronymus Bosch was, by no uncertain means, a very elaborate artist. The detail of glory, sin, and suffering in his triptychs was very intricate, which I feel accurately depicted sin. With these triptychs being unveiled at the time that they were, I understand the controversy they created.
ReplyDeleteObviously, I do not believe Hieronymus Bosch was a heretic. His depictions of sin I feel were accurate. Though the Church believed that they should scare the people by making them believe that they will suffer immediately from sin, this is obviously not the case. Bosch understood that sins were pleasing, indulgent activities. Why else would one sin if it were not enjoyable? Why would our Lord warn us not to sin, if we would have learned not to through immediate reciprocations? Bosch knew this, and depicted the people in his triptychs as enjoying their sin, as it was the truth. However, his depiction of Hell, and in turn suffering, warned people of the consequences of sin far more than the Church ever could. Bosch depicted the people suffering from their exact sins in the afterlife. While in the center of The Garden of Earthly Delights, man was depicted fornicating and playing a flute, in Hell he was depicted as being violated by that same flute. Due to all this, I feel that Hieronymus Bosch was a religious man. He was not encouraging people to sin, but giving them a warning. Warning them that just because sin was enjoyable and that they would not suffer immediately like the Church would have them believe, but that they would suffer greatly for their sins in Hell.
I feel that the Church need not worry about people being encouraged to sin by Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings. His paintings are a lesson. A lesson that teaches people that although they man enjoy the pleasures of sin, they will pay dearly for their sins in the afterlife in Hell. I feel that the depiction of suffering speaks to viewers much more strongly than those of sin. The depictions of suffering were so dramatic that it would be hard to ignore the insinuations of the painting. I think the depiction of suffering speaks even louder than that of sin today than it did before. In today’s society, people are inundated with the sins depicted they look on with ennui (i.e. sex, drugs, and rock and roll in today’s society, well, maybe not rock and roll). But depictions of pain and suffering never lose their shock value, no matter how common it is in a society.
I felt the presentation covered Bosch very well. I would have liked to see a more detailed view and discussion of his triptych that depicted the seven deadly sins, but that is something I can research on my own. From your presentation, I feel that Hieronymus Bosch was a very insightful artist. The discussions of the paintings was very good, especially that of the religious connotations and representations. It would have been nice to see more of his paintings that were commissioned and accepted by the Church, and to see any that were, if any, rejected by the Church.
On the surface, I believe Hieronymus Bosch appears to be a very religious man. Almost all of his paintings depict a religious scene or the presence of God, even when it seems unnecessary. Several of them depict very strict interpretations of religion with images clearly meant to warn people against any sort of sin. At the same time, there is something just a little bit off about his portrayals. It is hard to accurately describe, but the way he depicted sin in some paintings was obviously enough to get the church upset with him. I believe there are two possible explanations for this.
ReplyDeleteThe first would be that Hieronymus Bosch was a very clever man who did this intentionally. His body of work could be seen as a very subtle satire in which he subverts the very thing he appears to be advocating. Perhaps he created paintings for the church that seemed to follow their teachings but actually showed how ridiculous they were by depicting sin as pleasurable and showing the scenes of Heaven and Eden as sparse and colorless in comparison. This would explain why the parts of his paintings on sin are always the largest and most beautifully rendered. They are clearly the focal point.
Another explanation would be that Hieronymus Bosch was completely unaware of what he was doing, at least on a conscious level. In something as personal as art, we often reveal things about ourselves that we hadn’t intended. It is why analysis is such a big area; people delve into art and writing to find what the author left behind accidentally. Perhaps while painting these scenes and believing himself to be a righteous man teaching the proper path, Hieronymus Bosch became a bit too enamored with the concept of sin. After all, the whole point of sin in religion is that it is alluring and difficult to resist. Putting this down in pictures must make it all the more obvious.
Religion is a controversial thing to portray in art. Even when the artist believes he is doing good, others may reject it as heretical. In contrast, an artist may be lauded by the same religion he is actually making fun of. I do not know which of this Hieronymus Bosch was, but it is certainly fun to consider. It is interesting to look at the work of a man so long dead. Times were different, and he or anyone he knew is not around to tell us what he was thinking.