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Bosch, Hieronymus: Haywain

c. 1485-90; Oil on panel (triptych); El Escorial, Monasterio de San Lorenzo (or Prado, Madrid)

The subject of sin and its punishments was central to all of Bosch's art. Another famous triptych, the Haywain (c.1485-90; Prado, Madrid), contains a similar progression of sin, from Eden to hell, across its panels. In the central panel sin is represented through the metaphor of a large wagonload of hay for which a greedy world grasps. All the while, the wagon is being pulled by demons towards the right panel - which shows one of Bosch's earliest depictions of hell.

Image Paradise
Left wing (180 Kb); 147 x 66 cm

Image Haywain
Central panel (210 Kb); 140 x 100 cm

Image Hell
Right wing (180 Kb); 147 x 66 cm

Photographs by Mark Harden.

© 14 Oct 2002, Nicolas Pioch - Top - Up - Info
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