If you are an art addict, you may have already heard about The Garden of Earthly Delights as one of the fantastically surreal worlds ranging from orgiastic pleasure to terrifying horror. 

Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights has forever fascinated the public for centuries. Being the master of Early Netherlandish Renaissance art, Bosch has contributed significantly to countless fantastical, macabre paintings that remain immortal forever. 

They were an immediate success throughout his lifetime, and so many painters loved the style and its essence.

If you are looking for a fantastic piece of art with the garden delights print with uncountable interpretations bound to capture the public’s attention, head over to our classic Garden Delights II right away.



Meanwhile, let’s dissect the madness that has captivated and confounded historians and art lovers worldwide all these years with these top 6 surprising facts about The Garden of Earthly Delights together.  

Origin of the Title

An early surviving description of Bosch’s Garden of the Earthly Delights lives in the Historia de la Orden de San Geronima by Fray Jose Sigüenza in 1605. He initially called the work the “Strawberry Plant”, explaining the presence of strawberries in the artwork. 

In late 1947, Wilhelm Fraenger proposed a completely new theory and named it the Garden of Earthly Delights. He initially refused to view the central panel as any picture of humankind wallowing in sensual or lustful pleasure. 

Whether deciphered as a scene of sin or the man’s paradisiacal state, the centre majorly focuses on earthly pleasures, which validates why this artwork was intended for a secular location instead of a pastoral one.

After being displayed in public in the palace of Nassau, it quickly gained traction, and Bosch’s reputation skyrocketed across Europe.  

It’s a Triptych 

The creation of The Garden of Earthly Delights was indeed a bold move. It depicted the entire human experience right from the beginning to the afterlife within three related canvases. The first one on the left represents Paradise, whereas the last one on the right represents hell.

The Date of the painting is still a debate.

Surprisingly unlike other artists, Bosch never dated his work. Art historians worldwide have been making an estimate considering different factors, such as the age of the wood panels and others, concluding that it may have been painted anywhere between 1490 and 1510. 

Color Technique: Vivid vs Grisaille

This triptych was painted on oak wood panels using oil and has two rectangular wings that usually close over the centres. The wings represent the grisaille painting using a monochromatic palette of greys.

However, you can also observe some colouristic effects on the exterior of the paintings, such as pale pink and creamy white highlights with loose brushstrokes that give much-needed energy and life to the thought.

Symbolism and Meaning

If you ever want to decipher this masterpiece, one of the simplest ways to view this painting is directly through Bosch’s colour implementation. Different colours used in the artwork have variable effects. Some colours even have a consistent pattern, such as pink, blue, ochre, lime, white and red. 

The pink represents divinity, fecundity and generative power- the robe of God. 

The blue represents earthly influences and the materialistic manifestation of the universe. 

Next, the ochre represents intelligence, consciousness, and awareness. In contrast, the lime represents the ideal life that can be achieved under a certain set of circumstances. 

Lastly, white in the art represents purity and holiness yet cloaked in falsehood, whereas red symbolizes sheer lust, sexuality, and temptation in both earthly and heavenly procreative forms. 

Unexplored music

You could never have guessed it, but the large musical instruments in the original painting depict the justice system created by mankind. It depicts how the system is subjected to our own imagination and is highly corrupt. 

Transcribed by Amelia Hamrick, you can listen to the track from here and many other sources.  

You can also check out the updated version by Jim Spalink from here.

Wrapping Up

Right from the Garden delights in the beginning to the final story. There is a lot you can decipher which ultimately lies in your research. 

Apparently, it was even recognized as a form of surreal art. Some even believed that the influence of Bosch was evident in other Surrealists such as Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, etc.

You can spend an entire decade unravelling different facts and perceptions about this masterpiece. 

Adorned and loved by millions of people out there, our version of the Garden Delights II is indeed a great choice for your art collection this year. 

While you uncover more facts about the history and the whereabouts of the garden of earthly delights, help someone in need by purchasing the Garden Delights II  from my website, as every purchase is directly linked to a specific cause for the world. 

Just look what a stunning statement piece it becomes in any room, here in an image send it by our happy customer Jani: 

Till then,
stay safe and Discover more about the timeless masterpiece by Bosch.