Iconography - Hieronymus Bosch's the Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

The renaissance painting that I have chosen is Hieronymus Bosch’s The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things because it is very different from the other works by other artists of the renaissance period, like Da Vinci for example. While most of the renaissance paintings depicted highly realistic linear perspective and the beauty of nature, Bosch’s paintings were more surreal, satire and pessimistic.

The background of the painting is just simply black while the composition of the painting consists of mainly four small circles at each corner, showing Death, Judgment, Hell and Glory, and a larger circle in the middle, which is then separated into seven different scenes depicting the seven different deadly sins; Wrath, Avarice, Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Sloth and Lust. This allows the five discs to stand out against the plain black background. For the scenes, a mixture of warm colours like red and yellow, as well as cool colours like blue and green are used. Even though a variety of colours are used, the painting in general is not very brightly coloured but has a dark tint to it instead. For Wrath, the depiction would be the one at the bottom, which shows a woman restraining a drunken man holding a wine flask, whom is probably her husband, from fighting. For Avarice, a corrupted judge is seen taking a bribe. In Envy, an ordinary man is seen looking longingly at a wealthy aristocrat. In Pride, a woman admires herself in a mirror, which is held by a devil disguised as a maid. For Gluttony, a thin man is seen drinking wine while a fat man and his child feast on meat, while the wife brings in another platter of meat. In Sloth, a man sleeps in front of a fire while a nun reminds him of his religious duties. Finally in Lust, men and women flirt, drink and eat. There are also inscriptions in Latin verses from the Book of Deuteronomy, warning the consequences of sin. On the top, it reads “For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them,” and “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter