Dante's Inferno Vs Bosch's Garden Of Earthly Delights
Dante's Inferno Vs Bosch's Garden Of Earthly Delights
The concept of Hell is a powerful one to all who give pause to question an act of morality or sin. We are warned that choosing a path of debauchery may cause us to fall out of the holy grace of our omniscient God, leaving our afterlife to be one of pain, misery and suffering. These teachings are, though terrifying to some, generally vague- the specifics incomprehensible and distant. Hell is well known as simply unpleasant and hot, but could there be more to the legend than that? Both Dante Alighieri and Hieronymus Bosch felt that a belief of such relevance and widespread power warranted a clearer, more detailed and concise understanding. As a result, both of these artists defining works are dedicated to intricate and vivid depictions of Hell, one a poem, the other, a painting respectively. Their similar views on the evil within mankind, and their depictions through two very different art forms are essential in the understanding of the pervasive beliefs of their eras and in gaining a more literal image of the biblical realm known as Hell
The right wing of Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights", clearly represents the first piece ("Inferno") of the three poems known as Dante's "The Divine Comedy". Within this section of the threesome, elements from virtually all of Dante's ten circles of Hell are portrayed through graphic and chilling artistry. The majority of the place shown here is illuminated with an eerie reddish glow, obviously illustrating fire and heat, which has been used to symbolize the death, pain and suffering that runs rampant inside Lucifer's domain. Fire can also be created by man, so it could be reasoned that it represents our own mortality and self-destructive tendencies. Virgil, the stalwart guide to our protagonist, Dante, warns of these devastating flames in Canto III: line 87, "I come to lead you to the other shore, into eternal darkness, ice, and fire." The crimson tones that overlay much of the painting were foreshadowed in Dante's work when Virgil states, "Eternal fire burns within, giving off the reddish glow you see diffused throughout this lower Hell." (VII: 73-75).
Another striking image that appears in Bosch's painting is situated towards the bottom center of this masterpiece. A huge golden instrument stands, surrounded by lamenting figures, some of whom appear to be Nuns and a single man dressed as...