Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights (central panel)

At first sight, the central panel confronts us with an idyll unique in Bosch’s work: an extensive park-like landscape teeming with nude men and women who nibble at giant fruits, consort with birds and animals, frolic in the water and, above all, indulge in a variety of amorous sports overtly and without shame. A circle of male riders revolves like a great carousel around a pool of maidens in the centre and several figures soar about in the sky on delicate wings. This triptych is better preserved than most of Bosch’s large altarpieces, and the carefree mood of the central panel is heightened by the clear and even lighting, the absence of shadows, and the bright, high-keyed colours. The pale bodies of the inhabitants, accented by an occasional black-skinned figure, gleam like rare flowers against the grass and foliage. Behind the gaily coloured fountains and pavilions of the background lake, a soft line of hills melts into the distance. The diminutive figures and the large, fanciful vegetable forms seem as harmless as the medieval ornament which undoubtedly inspired them. We might be in the presence of the childhood of the world, when men and beasts dwelt in peace together and the earth yielded her fruit abundantly and without effort.

Nevertheless, this crowd of naked lovers was not intended as an apotheosis of innocent sexuality. The sexual act, which the twentieth century has learned to accept as a normal part of the human condition, was most often seen by the Middle Ages as proof of man’s fall from the state of angels, at best a necessary evil, at worst a deadly sin. That Bosch shared fully in this view is confirmed by the fact that his garden, like the haywain in his other triptych, is situated between Eden and Hell, the origin of sin and its punishment. Hence, just as the Haywain depicts worldly gain or Avarice, so the Garden of Earthly Delights depicts the sensual life, more specifically the deadly sin of Lust.