Artwork Title: The Garden of Earthly Delights (detail)

The Garden of Earthly Delights (detail), 1480-1505

Hieronymus Bosch

Gibson compares this "Prince of Hell" to a figure in the 12th-century Irish religious text Vision of Tundale, who feeds on the souls of corrupt and lecherous clergy. ... Bosch is innovative in that he describes hell not as a fantastical space, but as a realistic world containing many elements from day-to-day human life. Animals are shown punishing humans, subjecting them to nightmarish torments that may symbolize the seven deadly sins, matching the torment to the sin. Sitting on an object that may be a toilet or a throne, the panel's centerpiece is a gigantic bird-headed monster feasting on human corpses, which he excretes through a cavity below him, into the transparent chamber pot on which he sits. The monster is sometimes referred to as the "Prince of Hell", a name derived from the cauldron he wears on his head, perhaps representing a debased crown. To his feet a female has her face reflected on the... [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights#Left_panel]
Uploaded on Feb 12, 2017 by Suzan Hamer

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