Speakasso › Paintings › The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights
Hieronymus Bosch, 1490
The triptych reads from left to right: the garden of Eden, where God presents Eve to Adam; then a vast meadow where hundreds of naked people frolic among giant berries, birds and glass bubbles; and finally a night-time hell of musical instruments turned into torture devices and a bird-headed monster on a throne. Bosch painted for educated collectors rather than for a church, and it is still unclear whether he is condemning sin or simply letting his imagination run. Philip II of Spain, a devoted admirer, took the panel to Madrid.
What is in the painting
- Pink fountain. At the centre of the left and middle panels rise fantastical pink and blue tower-fountains.
- Cavalcade. In the middle panel riders on horses, camels and boars circle a pond.
- Tree-man. In the right panel a figure with an egg-shell body, tree-trunk legs and a face turned to us.
Did you know? When the wings are closed, their outer sides show, in grey on grey, the world as a glass sphere on the third day of creation.
About the painting
- Artist
- Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516)
- Year
- 1490
- Style
- Northern Renaissance
- Medium
- Oil on oak panel, triptych
- Size
- 205.5 × 384.9 cm
- Where to see it
- Prado Museum, Madrid
How to describe it in Speakasso
In Speakasso you describe the painting in your own words and an AI draws it again. These words are forbidden in this round — each one costs 15 points:
A description that scores high
Three tall panels side by side. On the left, a calm green paradise with a pink tower-like spout. In the center, a huge pastel meadow crowded with hundreds of tiny naked people playing among giant red fruits, glass bubbles and oversized winged creatures, with riders circling a pool. On the right, a dark burning hell with giant musical instruments and a man with an eggshell body on tree-trunk legs. Crisp, dreamlike oil painting.
The tricky part: Say giant red fruits and oversized winged creatures, and call the pink structures fantastical tower-shaped spouts.
The method behind it: what is painted first, then where things are, then colour and light, then the style. Read the full guide