Rise of the Blessed (Hieronymus Bosch)
Rise of the Blessed is a painting by Hieronymus Bosch that was created between 1505 and 1515. It is located in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice.
This painting is part of a polyptych made up of four panels with the title Visions of the Hereafter . The three other images are about Paradise on Earth , The Descent of the Damned into Hell and Hell .
Formal analysis
The most intriguing element of this painting is the large tunnel that fills the top third of the picture. The viewer is put into a perspective as if he were looking through a straw at the heavenly beyond. This beyond the tunnel is pure light in which everything objective remains hidden. It is a source of diversity and surprise that symbolizes a visionary and ecstatic union with God. The three-dimensional tunnel gives the viewer a glimpse of the “white light” from heaven, into which the naked figures will immerse themselves at the end of their earthly journey - guided by angels . Your gender is not recognizable, just as individual traits do not make a distinction possible. What their bodies express can be described as a contemplative posture, which is given a direction by the arm movements of the angels clearly pointing towards the tunnel and is also understood by the souls waiting for redemption. This is what the sky-facing faces indicate. Here the essence of man is symbolized, which is in the process of transcendence and leaves everything physical behind.
Overall, the scene in the picture is very weakly lit, which is in contrast to the white light at the end of the tunnel. The heavenly light is not the light that illuminates the bottom of the picture on which the earthly kingdom is located and which can no longer be seen here. The extreme darkness at the entrance of the tunnel suggests that the heavenly light has nothing to do with the light in the clouds from below. The areas outside the tunnel are dark and gray. The light coming from below becomes weaker as you approach the tunnel, before it goes out completely at its edge and allows the light emanating from God to take effect.
The representations of this picture contain essential elements that are reported by people with near-death experiences and have been well documented by thanatology and are increasingly being completed by this emerging branch of science. It is possible that reports of such experiences inspired the artist, and vice versa, the influence of people with near-death experiences through such pictorial representations and the imaginations on which they are based can be found. In the 15th century it was customary to depict the entrance to paradise as a funnel, which therefore appeared in many pictorial representations. The shape of the tunnel bears some resemblance to contemporary depictions of the zodiac and this may have inspired Bosch to depict a tunnel that leads into the light and thus into the vicinity of God.
Historical context
Bosch's images reflect the religious themes that dominated art and society in the Netherlands in the 16th century, particularly the Catholic religion. Everyone had a duty to behave and act like a good Catholic so that they could ascend to heaven. The consequences of sin were portrayed in such a horrific way to force the obedience of the people through severe punishments in purgatory and condemnation in hell . According to Patrik Reuterswärd , the impact of these threats was supported by papers such as: For example, a book called On Providence , which was circulated in Bosch's time, suggested to believers that out of 30,000 souls, God would only accept two into heaven.
The position of the picture within the polyptych
There is no unanimous opinion among experts about the assignment and interpretation of the arrangement. The pictures as individual works are less of a problem in the discussion, as they each make clear statements for themselves. Rather, the dispute concerns the order of the panels and how they should be positioned in a museum. When the bundle was hung up in Venice in 2011, the arrangement of the tablets was The Fall of the Damned Into Hell , Hell , contrasted with Paradise on Earth and Rise of the Blessed . Paradise on earth was placed on the left-hand side as it resembles other Bosch panels on the same subject, especially with its landscape, fountain and other biblical references. It remained questionable whether paradise on earth should be interpreted as paradise in the sense of the painter, or whether it should be better described as purgatory, since earthly life is subject to many torments. Another possible arrangement of the panels is seen with reference to Matt. 25: 32–3 in the order Ascension of the Blessed , Paradise on Earth , Hell, and The Fall of the Damned into Hell . This idea follows the traditional view that God guides the damned on the left to hell. The Bosch expert Ludwig von Baldass believes that "the wings each consisting of two superimposed image panels consist", where the left by angels into paradise represent led rescued beings and the fall of the damned is right to see in hell. Some experts believe that the visions of the afterlife formed the side wings of a triptych on the theme of The Last Judgment , the central part of which has been lost.
The attribution of the panels to Hieronymus Bosch has not been clearly clarified, but it is generally accepted since no other attribution appears sensible from an art-historical point of view. There is also speculation about the motifs that prompted Bosch to compose the pictures, whether they come from his mind or from his dreams. In the 16th century, many people tried to bring about a spiritual awakening through various stimulants in order to get as close as possible to God. The motifs depicted by Bosch could have been some of the images that people received while trying to delve into the depth and mystery of their spirituality.
literature
- Ludwig von Baldass : Hieronymus Bosch . Harry N. Abrams, New York 1960.
- Walter S. Gibson: Hieronymus Bosch . Thames and Hudson, London 1973.
- Stephen Graham Hitchins: Art as History, History as Art . Brepols Publishers, Belgium, 2014.
- Patrik Reuterswärd: Hieronymus Bosch's Four “Afterlife” Panels in Venice. IN. Artibus et Historiae 12, No. 24, 1991, pp. 29-35.
Remarks
- ↑ a b c Hitchens: Art as History, History as Art . P. 109.
- ↑ Baldass: Hieronymus Bosch . P. 224.
- ^ Gibson: Hieronymus Bosch . P. 64.
- ^ Gibson: Hieronymus Bosch . P. 73.
- ↑ Reuterswärd: Hieronymus Bosch's Four “Afterlife” Panels in Venice . P. 34.
- ↑ Baldass: Hieronymus Bosch . P. 27.
- ^ Hitchens: Art as History, History as Art . P. 108.
- ^ Gibson: Hieronymus Bosch . P. 62.
- ^ Hitchens: Art as History, History as Art . P. 111.