A painting a day · No. 3 of 38
The Garden of Earthly Delights
Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516)
c. 1490–1510 · Oil on oak panels (a triptych) · Museo del Prado, Madrid
The story
Three panels, read left to right: Eden, then a crowded garden of naked people, giant fruit and birds, then Hell. Closed, the outer shutters show the world as a grey globe on the third day of Creation.
Look closer
- In Hell, the 'Tree Man' — a hollow egg-shaped body standing on two tree trunks — looks back at you over his shoulder.
- A line of music is written on one sinner's backside. People have transcribed it and played it.
- The strawberries are the size of people.
Did you know
King Philip II of Spain owned it and sent it to his monastery-palace, El Escorial, in 1593. It has been in Spain ever since.
Why we can show it
Hieronymus Bosch died in 1516. UK copyright lasts for the artist’s life plus 70 years, so even under today’s rules this painting would have been free for anyone to show since 1587. The photograph is a faithful copy of a flat work, which creates no new copyright. We do not store the picture: it comes from Wikimedia Commons each time it is needed. More on this.