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Hieronymus Bosch’s early 16th century famed triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights, is hard to explain if you haven’t seen images of it. At 13 feet long and over 7 feet hight, its three interior panels illustrate the fate of humanity with a busy composition, bold colors of chartreuse, pale pink, and vermillion, and bizarre shapes and hybrid creatures.

When the large piece is closed, the viewer sees a grayscale depiction of the Third Day of the Creation of the World. In the upper left is God. The earth is suspended in a transparent sphere and lacks a human population. Once the wings of the triptych open, though, a very different scene appears. The three main panels stand in chronological order: paradise, garden of earthly delights, and hell. In paradise, God introduces Eve to Adam, who are surround by a unicorn, a giraffe, and other creatures. The middle panel, whose skyline continues from the  left panel, portrays a false sense of paradise, showcasing the sins of man. And the right panel depicts the tortuous fires and the demons of hell, which eat people and terrorize people. 

The central panel’s extensive and fantastical garden scene is why the triptych is called “The Garden of the Earthly Delights.” The delights range from a lake of nude figures engaged in sensual activities, a couple being carried in a large mussel shell, drinking, people riding animals and flying animals, strange architectural structures, a gathering around a large strawberry (due to the number of strawberries scattered throughout the work, the triptych was called “The Strawberry Painting” in the 17th century), people sampling a blue cluster of berries in the water, and a couple encased in translucent sphere steaming from a flower. And the list of bizarre depictions continues.