The Painting : Seven Deadly Sins and The Four Last Things

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

Description and meaning of the painting:

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things is a painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, completed around 1500 or later. The painting is oil on wood panels. The painting is presented in a series of circular images.

Four small circles, detailing "Death of the sinner", "Judgement", "Hell", and "Glory", surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later, lust), and pride in scenes from everyday life rather than allegorical representations of the sins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Deadly_Sins_and_the_Four_Last_Things

At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").

The Painter

Hieronymus Bosch was born Hieronymus (or Jeroen, respectively the Latin and Middle Dutch form of the name "Jerome") van Aken (meaning "from Aachen"). He signed a number of his paintings as Bosch (pronounced Boss in Middle Dutch). The name derives from his birthplace, Hertogenbosch, which is commonly called "Den Bosch".

In the twentieth century, when changing artistic tastes made artists like Bosch more palatable to the European imagination, it was sometimes argued that Bosch's art was inspired by heretical points of view as well as of obscure hermetic practices.

His depictions of sinful humanity, his conceptions of Heaven and Hell are now seen as consistent with those of late medieval didactic literature and sermons. His work is known for its use of fantastic imagery to illustrate moral and religious concepts and narratives.

 

The Second Sin (Gluttony) is depicted in this portrait which also forms a section of the Seven Deadly Sins painting discussed above.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hieronymus_Bosch_094.jpg