Why it matters
Bosch's triptych is meant to be read from left to right, with a teeming garden of pleasures at its centre. The intricacy of its symbolism has produced centuries of interpretation, and art historians still disagree whether the central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost.
Did you know?
- When closed, the grey outer panels show the world on the third day of Creation.
- It was painted between about 1490 and 1510.
- Because of its extreme subject matter, it was probably never meant for a church.
- It has been in the Prado since 1939.
Based on the Wikipedia article The Garden of Earthly Delights (CC BY-SA 4.0).
