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On the foreground of the shocking central panel stands a creature characteristic of Bosch's work, consisting of only one head on two feet. His anatomical imperfections are covered by a headscarf. The painter has embroidered upon a classical Greek form in his own distinctive way. In ancient times, omitting body parts was also considered frightening. The character, amusing to us, seems to be taking a carefree stroll through the bloody scene of the Last Judgement.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK: THE LAST JUDGEMENT Hiëronymus Bosch warns us
against the consequences of a life of sin. The downfall of the
rebellious angels on the left panel heralds the beginning of the end.
Further, one sees the chosen few in heaven, with below them the vast
remainder who will have to undergo the most horrendous tortures on
Judgement Day. Saint Jacob of Compostella and the ‘Holy Bavo’ adorn the
closed panels.
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ABOUT THE ART PERIOD: From
an artistic point of view, the world famous brilliant forerunner of
surrealism was, in his day, unique and radically different. Hiëronymus
(Jeroen for schort) 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. Hiëronymus Bosch’s style arises from
the tradition of the book illuminations (manuscript illustrations from
the Middle Ages). The caricatural representation of evil tones down its
terrifying implications, but also serves as a defiant warning with a
theological basis.
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