Bird with Letter Statue by
Parastone is a three dimensional representation of the bird figure in the left panel of a religious triptych by
Hieronymus Bosch from the Northern Renaissance. The Bird is one of the many freakish figures which appear in
The Temptation of Saint Anthony triptych (c. 1500, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon) which is intended to teach Christian messages to the faithful. Saint Anthony
won a lot of praise in Hieronymus Bosch's heyday because he resisted
diabolical temptations, in sharp contrast with the ordinary mortals.
This
birdlike monster wears skates and a tin hat, has a hunchback, and carries a sealed letter in his beak. The inscription on this note could throw a light on the contemplated symbolism of the beast. But unfortunately, this text is difficult to read and open to various interpretations. none of which are proven to be accurate. The postman-like freak is perhaps delivering a letter to the conspiring figures in the hole under the bridge. The funnel on this curious bird's head gives him a preposterous appearance. This headwear is referred to elsewhere as wisdom or absent-mindedness, but that symbolism seems unsuitable here.
Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450-1519): From
an artistic point of view, the world famous brilliant forerunner of
surrealism was, in his day, unique and radically different. Hieronymus
(Jeroen for short) Bosch was born (ca. 1450-1516) during the transition
from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, in the
Duchy of Brabant.
Bosch places
visionary images in a hostile
world full of mysticism, with the conviction that the human being, due
to its own stupidity and sinfulness has become prey to the devil himself.
He holds a mirror to the world with his cerebral irony and magical
symbolism, sparing no one. He aims his mocking arrows equally well at
the hypocrisy of the clergy as the extravagance of the nobility and the immorality of the people. Hieronymus Bosch’s style arises from the
tradition of the book illuminations (manuscript illustrations from the
Middle Ages). The caricature representation of evil tones down its
terrifying implications, but also serves as a defiant warning with a
theological basis.
