... is a triptych – painted on both sides of three hinged panels. When the wings are closed, it shows a globe in the process of creation. When open, the left–hand panel shows God with Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden; the garden of earthly delights is shown in the centre panel; and the right–hand panel (the most famous) shows a vision of Hell. According to Wikipedia, "the general view is that the extreme subject matter of the inner center and right panels make it unlikely that it was intended to function in a church or monastery, but was instead commissioned by a lay patron."
In more words of Wikipedia, "The dating of The Garden of Earthly Delights is uncertain." Wikipedia suggests that it was painted "between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old." It was first documented in 1517 – one year after the artist's death – as part of the decoration in the town palace of the Counts of the House of Nassau in Brussels. In 1568 it was confiscated by the Duke of Alba and brought to Spain, and in 1591 it was bought at auction by King Philip II. Two years later he presented it to El Escorial monastery near Madrid (where, in 1566, a tapestry had been created based on the triptych). A contemporaneous description of the transfer describes the gift as a "painting in oils, with two wings depicting the variety of the world, illustrated with grotesqueries by Hieronymus Bosch, known as Del Madroño."
In 1939 it was moved to the Prado (in Madrid), where it has undergone extensive restoration.
The title by which the work is known today is relatively modern. The name used in 1593 means "the strawberry tree", because the fruit of the strawberry tree (madroño in Spanish) features prominently in the centre panel. Other early Spanish writers referred to the work as La Lujuria ('Lust').
© Haydn Thompson 2020