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The inscription on this note in the beak of this birdlike monster on skates could throw a light on the contemplated symbolism. Unfortunately, this text, which is difficult to read, is open to various interpretations, but none of them 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.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK: THE TEMPATION OF SAINT ANTHONY Saint Anthony
won a lot of praise in HiÎronymus Bosch's heyday. He resisted
diabolical temptations, in sharp contrast with the ordinary mortals, as
this triptych portrays in splendid colours. The closed panels show the
arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.
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. HiÎronymus
(Jeroen for schort) Bosch was born (ca. 1450-1516) during the
transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance in ës-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. HiÎronymus Boschís 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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Janus Jewelry
