15 Captivating Insights into Hieronymus Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’

The artwork of Hieronymus Bosch, the Dutch master, is celebrated for its surreal visuals and intricate details. Among his works, The Garden of Earthly Delights stands out as his most ambitious creation, brimming with symbolism that continues to spark fascination over five centuries later. Discover the key details below.

1. The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych, named after its central panel.

Bosch aimed to portray the entirety of human existence, from creation to eternity, across three interconnected panels. The left panel symbolizes paradise, the right depicts hell, and the centerpiece is The Garden of Earthly Delights.

2. The exact creation date remains a topic of speculation.

Since Bosch never dated his works, art historians face challenges in pinpointing timelines. Some believe he started The Garden of Earthly Delights around 1490, when he was approximately 40. (His birth year is estimated to be around 1450.) The artwork is thought to have been finished between 1510 and 1515.

3. The Garden of Earthly Delights captures paradise at a pivotal moment.

The pristine landscape, filled with intriguing creatures (including a unicorn), represents the Garden of Eden at the precise moment Eve was created as Adam’s companion, as described in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. God is depicted facilitating their introduction.

4. Bosch might have embedded a cautionary message.

Certain art historians argue that the central panel symbolizes humanity’s descent into sin, squandering its opportunity for eternal salvation. Bosch’s disdain for lust is evident through the multitude of nude figures indulging in frivolous acts. The flowers and fruits are thought to symbolize fleeting earthly pleasures. Some interpretations suggest the glass sphere enclosing amorous couples alludes to the Flemish proverb, “Happiness is like glass—it shatters quickly.”

5. Some interpret the painting as illustrating the fall from paradise.

This interpretation offers another widely accepted view of the triptych: rather than a warning, it suggests humanity has already strayed from the path. This perspective treats the panels as a sequential narrative from left to right, instead of viewing the central panel as a crossroads leading either to heaven (left) or hell (right).

6. The painting holds more than what meets the eye on its front panels.

Crafted on oak, the reverse sides of the paradise and hell panels can be closed to unveil the artwork’s final component. Here, Bosch is thought to have illustrated the third day of God’s creation, when plants existed but animals and humans had yet to be formed. The scene is accompanied by two inscriptions: “He himself said it, and all was done” and “He himself ordered it and all was created.”

Designed as a prelude to the inner panels, these shutters were executed in a monochrome style known as grisaille, a typical method for triptych doors of the period to avoid overshadowing the vibrant colors of the main artwork.

7. It is one of three comparable triptychs Bosch produced.

Bosch also created similarly themed works like The Last Judgment and The Haywain Triptych. Each piece can be interpreted sequentially from left to right, depicting the Bible’s narrative of humanity’s creation in Eden, mankind’s corruption of God’s world, and the terrifying consequences of such actions in hell.

8. Bosch inherited the dedication and artistic calling required to craft The Garden of Earthly Delights from his father.

Little is documented about the life of this Early Netherlandish Renaissance artist, but it is known that both his father and grandfather were painters. Antonius van Aken, Bosch’s father, also served as an advisor to the Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady, a Christian group devoted to honoring the Virgin Mary. Shortly before Bosch started work on The Garden of Earthly Delights, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Brotherhood.

9. Despite its religious theme, it likely wasn’t created for a church.

While its message may have emphasized morality and chastity, the imagery in The Garden of Earthly Delights was too unconventional for a place of worship. It is more probable that the piece was commissioned by a wealthy patron, potentially a member of the Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady.

10. It may have been well-received during its era.

The Garden of Earthly Delights first appeared in historical records in 1517, when Italian chronicler Antonio de Beatis likely mentioned seeing it in a Brussels palace owned by the counts of Nassau. While he didn’t record the critical reception, the existence of reproductions, including a painting and a tapestry, indicates that Bosch’s provocative and surreal portrayal of damnation resonated with audiences.

11. The corruption of God’s word by mankind is symbolized through two hands.

The first appears in paradise as a softly raised right hand when God presents Eve to Adam. In the hell panel, a hand mimicking this gesture is shown severed, pale with decay, pierced through its center, and holding a gambling die on its fingers, located in the lower left side of Hell on a blue disc. Its message is harsh yet unmistakable.

12. The colors are thought to carry thematic significance.

Pink represents divinity, as both God (in the first panel) and the fountain of life behind him glow with this warm hue. Blue signifies the Earth and its pleasures, such as blue berries to savor, blue casks to drink from, blue ponds to play in, and creatures to interact with. Red embodies passion. Earth tones symbolize the mind: the darker the brown shades, the more corrupted humanity has become. Finally, lime green, vibrant in the first panel, is almost entirely missing in the last, supporting the idea that it represents virtue.

13. The Garden of Earthly Delights is likely larger than most people imagine.

Given the intricate details, one might expect it to be large. However, The Garden of Earthly Delights is truly massive. The central panel measures approximately 7.25 feet by 6.5 feet, while each side panel is about 7.25 feet by 3.25 feet, making the entire piece nearly 13 feet wide when fully opened.

14. Bosch might have included a self-portrait in the artwork.

It’s not a flattering depiction, but art historian Hans Belting suggests that Bosch inserted himself into the hell panel, split into two parts. According to this theory, the artist is represented by the man with a torso resembling a cracked eggshell, his face turned back with a smirk at the grim scene. Belting describes it as having an “expression of irony and a slightly sideways gaze, which would serve as the signature of an artist who claimed this bizarre visual world as a product of his own imagination.”

15. The Garden of Earthly Delights secured Bosch’s reputation as a trailblazing surrealist.

While Surrealism didn’t emerge until the 1920s with figures like Bosch-admirer Salvador Dalí, Bosch’s unsettling contrasts and enigmatic imagery have led modern critics to regard him as the first Surrealist—four centuries before Dalí.