Dear Dimitra,

You are so right in that Bosch was unique. His works, plentiful with details, were so different from those by all other painters of all centuries, even from those who imitated them in the sixteenth century. In my opinion, only some works by Pieter Brueghel the Elder can be said to resemble his most characteristic paintings, but only to a limited extent. Whenever you want to describe the feeling they produce in you, the first thing that comes to mind is that they are absolutely amazing.

And amazing they are. I am posting only the Garden's left and right wings, if only to avoid overpowering the viewer with the huge amount of detail in the center panel. And these two panels by themselves are as different as day is from night. In all logic, the left one seems to belong to the Earth's past and the right one to its future as might be considered from the perspective of Bosch's times. As you say, you may love or you may hate him. But maybe these two are only different feelings projected from a same reality, that of Earth, which may be either lovable or hateful according to everyone's circumstances. Maybe they are just two different realities living simultaneously on this planet, actually two different Earths existing for everyone here and now, and it depends on everyone to make just one of them prevail.

Best Wishes,

Luis Miguel Goitizolo

Dear Miracle,

I am very sorry for this delayed response. Your visit has been to me most pleasurable and your post just lovely. Thank you very much for both.

I must confess to my total ignorance of the poet Robert Henryson: you would not expect to learn about him in the schools of my country, rather focused on Spanish poetry and then, preferably the national sort. I resorted to Wikipedia to find out more about him. With Chaucer's poetry I was more familar, but anyway, what I have been talking about in previous posts was perfectly illustrated there: The arts were used during the Middle Ages, and well into the Modern Age, to teach lessons in religion and moral by means of verbal metaphors and puns... But that is not all.

In fact, all kinds of artistic manifestations have been used to that end by all ancient societies throughout history, and not only out of a mere individual impulse or vocation from some artist but mainly as a sort of general state policies intended to perpetuate the very existence of those societies. This they did mostly because they believed that such existence would be threatened deep in its core if they did not abide by the religious and moral norms that they had been taught by their ancestors, and their ancestors by their own ancestors, etcetera. Now it seems that Bosch, like other enlightened personalities who lived between the late Middle Ages and the Renaissence period, was a converse. He was absolutely sure the world would perish if the men of his time did not amend their ways, and he set to the task of teaching them. I am not sure whether or not he succeeded in this endeavor, but in the artistic sense the outcome could not be better - at least in my opinion.

But I am afraid that this post is becoming too lenghty. I am very sorry if it in turn has sounded too didactic; it may just be that I am still trying to organize and develope my own ideas about Bosch, his art and his times. I personally find the subject most fascinating. I dare to hope that you have found it at least interesting, and that you keep visiting us in the future.

Hieronymus Bosch - The Hay Wain

Thanks again,

Luis Miguel Goitizolo

Dear Peter,

I am so glad you were able to visit, especially as you are a learned commentator. Bosch is certainly unique and fascinating, even if his works are not always a delight to the eyes as you say. And the more they are studied by us, the more they talk to us.

However, only rarely will those works tell the same message to all. In preparing this thread, and even after it was launched, I checked several sources and they widely diverged, especially in their varied interpretations of the more controversial works. In the process, my own reading of them was somewhat shaken and in some cases even varied to a certain extent, but in the main they were reaffirmed. And of course, my appreciation of them was left unchanged.

In fact, I admire those works and their great creator all the more now, since except where there might be obvious dishonesty involved, as with all those big cheaters of our time, only the greatest masters and their works, particularly if they possess the mark of the genius, would be likely to create such amount of debate over the centuries. Such is my belief at least.

Best Wishes,

Luis Miguel Goitizolo

Dear Sami,

Yes, I must thank Kathleen from the bottom of my heart as it was through her inspired suggestion that I reopened this forum and not only can I now enjoy featuring a great master and his works, but also receive the visits of cherished friends like you.

One of the things that I most appreciate in visitors is their ability to capture the essence and gist of an artist's featured works. In your case, you have perceived from the start the main characteristics of Bosch's works, namely the heavy Christian message and the symbolic character and time representation in them. The latter is particularly revealed in his most celebrated triptychs, but not to all viewers, only to insightful ones.

Thank you for the kind expressions of appreciation and friendship. I too have you in great esteem and do hope to live up to your expectations.

Best Wishes,

Luis Miguel Goitizolo

P.S. I hope you don't mind my later addition of Bosch's outstanding Christ Carrying the Cross (painted c.1500), believed to be the left surviving panel of a disappeared triptych.

Hieronymus Bosch - Christ Carrying the Cross
(oil on panel, date uncertain)