Manner of Hieronymus Bosch

Triptych: Temptation of Saint Anthony Abbot; Scenes from the Garden of Earthly Delights

Lot Closed

May 26, 02:01 PM GMT

Estimate

6,000 - 8,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property of a Private Collector

Manner of Hieronymus Bosch

Triptych:

Temptations of Saint Anthony Abbot;

Scenes from the Garden of Earthly Delights

a triptych, oil on panel, shaped top

painted surface, central panel: 12 ¾ by 7 ¾ in.; 32.4 by 19.7 cm.

painted surface, left and right panels: 11 ⅜ by 2 ¾ in.; 28.9 by 7.0 cm.

central panel, in engaged frame: 15 ¼ by 10 ½ in.; 38.7 by 26.7 cm.

left and right panels, in engaged frames: 15 ⅛ by 5 ⅛ in.; 38.4 by 13.0 cm.

overall triptych with wings open: 15 ¼ by 20 ¾ in.; 38.7 by 52.7 cm.

Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 22 March 1984, lot 60;

Where acquired by a private collector;

Thereafter acquired by the present collector.

This irreverent and whimsical triptych combines elements from two of Bosch's most celebrated paintings, The Temptations of Saint Anthony (Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, inv. no. 1498) and The Garden of Earthly Delights (Madrid, Museo del Prado, inv. no. P002823). The present painting's central panel is an adaptation of the former, with certain figures transposed and other aspects of the original composition pared down or altered. The two lateral wings feature pastiched motifs derived from the central portion of the Madrid work. At left, a nude woman appears to float trapped within a translucent bubble, above which a fantastical plant-like structure is crowned by a red fruit. At right, an upside-down figure supports a human-bearing mussel, beyond which a fruit pod sprouts and flowers. The triptych, likely executed long after Bosch's day, testifies to the artist's enduring appeal from his own time to today.