Hell, from The Garden of Earthly Delights

Title

Hell, the right wing of The Garden of Earthly Delights

Also known as

The Musical Hell

Maker

Hieronymus Bosch

Nationality, dates

Netherlandish, c. 1450–1516

Date

1490–1500 (museum dating; other scholars have proposed later dates)

Medium

Oil on oak panel. Closed, the wings show the Creation of the world in grisaille.

Dimensions

Each wing 185.8 × 76.5 cm (about 73 × 30 in); central panel 185.8 × 172.5 cm

Part of

A triptych with Eden on the left wing, a garden of pleasures in the center and Hell on the right

First recorded

30 July 1517, by Antonio de Beatis, in the Nassau palace in Brussels

Later history

Bought by Philip II of Spain in 1591 at the posthumous sale of Fernando de Toledo. Sent to the monastery of El Escorial on 8 July 1593.

Held by

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (P002823). Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Museo Nacional del Prado.

Rights

Public domain. Image source: Wikimedia Commons, “The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch High Resolution 2.jpg” (PD-Art).

Bosch painted The Garden of Earthly Delights as a triptych, a center panel with two wings that close over it. Eden is on the left wing, and a crowded garden of pleasures fills the center. The right wing is Hell. So many of its torments use musical instruments that it is sometimes called the musical Hell. A giant harp and lute stand in the lower left. One sinner is crucified in the strings of the harp. Another lies face down under the lute with music painted on his backside, and a small choir sings from it.

In 2014, Amelia Hamrick, a student at Oklahoma Christian University, transcribed those notes into modern notation. She assumed the second line of the staff was C, as was common in chant of the period. Then she recorded the tune and posted it on her blog. The early-music writer Ian Pittaway thinks it was never meant to be played. He argues that Bosch painted the look of notation, with no clef to fix the pitch. The tune heard online is her reading of the marks.

Above the instruments stands the Tree-Man. His body is a broken eggshell on two tree-trunk legs, with a small tavern inside. His pale face turns over his shoulder toward the viewer. The art historian Hans Belting proposed that the face is a self-portrait of Bosch.

• Woven blanket, 100% cotton, with colorful fringed edges
• Three sizes: 52 × 37 in (132 × 94 cm), 60 × 50 in (152 × 127 cm), 80 × 60 in (203 × 152 cm)
• Size tolerance ±2.5 in (about 6 cm)
• Hang it as a wall tapestry (hanging hardware not included), or use it on a sofa or bed
• Woven threads soften fine linework; colors and texture differ slightly from the screen image
• Catalogue N° 008 · The Noha Studio

• Machine wash cold, max 30°C / 86°F
• Gentle cycle, mild detergent
• Non-chlorine bleach only if needed
• Tumble dry low

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