Garden of Earthly De-frights!!!!

March 18, 2014 5:57 PM

Looking for analysis of Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. And yes, I absolutely had to look up the spelling on that one.

It's one of my favorite pieces of visual art, probably because I see something new every time I look at it. While I was staring at a recently tacked up poster of it, I was wondering what the head count was.

Is there a breakdown of the individuals in the triptych, or at least of all the separate tableaux? Not sure if that's the right word for all the little Where's Waldo scenes in it. I'm sure there's plenty of analysis of this painting, but I honestly don't know where to begin. I've been focusing on the nun pig, but that's probably just me.

posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

I tried "Garden of Earthly Delights characters" in the Googles and that came up with some interesting stuff, the first thing being this (check the "Sidebar" bit down the bottom).

Also enjoy this lolTripod site.
posted by turbid dahlia at 6:21 PM on March 18, 2014

The video in this FPP might be of interest.
posted by lowest east side at 11:05 PM on March 18, 2014

There is an analysis of it in the book "The Northern Renaissance" by Jeffrey Chipps Smith. Northern Renaissance is the search term you want for books on the subject.
posted by mani at 12:10 AM on March 19, 2014

It is one of my favorite paintings too. When I lived in Madrid, years ago, I used to go to the Prado a lot just to check it out in all its fine detail.

This book has a pretty detailed examination of the entire work, though honestly I am not sure I buy the final analysis in the book. But, if you like that painting, the book is definitely worth reading.
posted by Flood at 4:17 AM on March 19, 2014

Slideshow with full commentary
posted by Tom-B at 4:32 AM on March 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Renaissance Revolution - Season 1 Ep. 2 - The Garden of Earthly Delights might be of interest.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:48 PM on March 20, 2014