HIERONYMUS BOSCH AND HIS LEGACY: THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS - Lecture 3 of 3 (via Zoom)

Aneta Georgievska-Shine, professor of art history, University of Maryland

Painting on the cusp of the medieval and Renaissance worlds, Hieronymus Bosch (1450–1516) continues to fascinate us with his fantastic imagery and densely symbolic messages. Though little is known about his background, this Netherlandish painter seems both to express the spiritual dilemmas of his generation and to exist in a timeless world of his own.

 His most famous painting, Garden of Earthly Delights, has been interpreted in myriads of ways, none of them conclusive or mutually exclusive. So have many of his other works, which offer countless imaginative perspectives on human foibles and temptations, and, more rarely, hint at the possibility of salvation.

 Even after the recent exhibitions and publications prompted by the 400th anniversary of his death, many of his masterpieces remain as perplexing as they probably appeared to their original viewers. This three-session mini-course examines some of the most important facets of his work and legacy.