Hieronymus Bosch, Ascent of the Blessed
Iconological Analysis
Hieronymus Bosch, Ascent of the Blessed, after 1490
ICONOLOGY
STEP1 : ( DESCRIPTION )
At the top of the piece have an end of a large tunnel, which ends in bright light. This light coming from the other side of the tunnel. There are two figures that have already passed beyond the tunnel and have entered this light.
Also, here have a humans and an flying angels everywhere. Their clothes and wings are depicted in different colours: red, blue, green…All the figures in the painting are looking upwards towards the tunnel. There are also clouds around the figures. Clouds are gray.
Generally, the muted monochrome colour palette is predominant.
STEP 2 : ( IDENTIFICATION )
This piece is part of a polyptych of four panels entitled Visions of the Hereafter .(The others are Terrestrial Paradise, Fall of the Damned into Hell and Hell.)
The main motive is related to the Christian understanding of the transfer of the soul to the afterlife.
Specific subject : Humans and angels depicted are wings according to the Christian canon.
Symbolism :
Shapes – * During the fifteenth-century, the entrance to paradise was depicted as a funnel which appeared in many miniatures. The shape of the radiant funnel actually has some resemblance to contemporary zodiac diagrams but Bosch transforms it into a shining corridor through which the blessed approach God. Right beneath the tunnel, there is an array of angels helping blessed human souls towards salvation. In the lower parts of the panel there are two angels per one soul, suggesting that some humans need more help than others. As it gets closer to the top of the panel, there is a one to one ratio of angel and soul. This might symbolize that the human souls that are pulled from Earth’s gravity and towards the tunnel become lighter in weight. The angels have their hands either on the human body carrying it upwards or near the body simply guiding it where to go.
** Faces and hairs : All the characters have similar facial features because the physical aspect of the humans and angels are more idealized and not individualized. The style of the hair is also quite idealized. *** Bodies : The figures are not meant to look like specific individual people. None of the human souls have organs to help differentiate whether they are male or female. This could be a form of symbolism which shows that there are no genders in Heaven. This could be implying that all human souls are no longer differentiated by sexual organs and everyone is the same.
Light – The painting as a whole is very dimly lit which contrasts with the white brightness at the end of the tunnel. The extreme darkness directly around the tunnel indicates that the heavenly light has nothing to do with the light coming from below. The areas outside the tunnel are dark and gray. The light actually becomes darker as it moves upwards then when it reaches the tunnel there is a sudden eruption of light. This painting of the funnel has been known to look very similar to people who have had near-death experiences. During the fifteenth-century, the entrance to paradise was depicted as a funnel which appeared in many miniatures.
Relevent history :
Bosch’s paintings reflect the religious themes that dominated art and society in the Netherlands during the sixteenth century, especially the Catholic religion. Almost everyone’s duty was to behave and act like a good Catholic so that they could ascend into heaven. The consequences of sin were made so awful to frighten the faithful obedience into people with the ultimate punishments of weakening in purgatory and being sent to Hell.
It is known that there was a high number of monks and nuns that lived in Bosch’shome city. It was even called “a pious city” because of its high quantity of confraternities and religious houses.
Art historical considerations :
Early Renaissance period.
The medium is wooden, an oak panel. Dating of the wood showed that the youngest growth ring was from 1473 and it has been deemed unlikely that the painting was started before 1486.
Although no signature or date has been found, careful study and analysis of the style and technique involved in the painting has been carried out and the work has been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch.
STEP 3 : ( ANALYSIS )
In this image, robed and winged angels appear to be escorting the naked souls of the blessed towards a segmented corridor or "tunnel of light". The angels and the blessed souls gaze upwards towards the divine light in the narrow tapering corridor.
They appear to wait their turn to ascend. One of the angels has bright red wings. At the end of the tunnel two figures are present and what appears to be a silhouette of another angelic being. The two figures appear to be waving or greeting the first soul who is being escorted into the tunnel by a single angel.
What is particularly interesting about this painting is that Bosch appears to have captured modern day ideas about near death experiences. It is not known whether Bosch himself had experienced anything like this, but clearly his image of ascending towards a bright tunnel of light to meet past family and friends, seems to match the experiences of near death, that survivors often describe.
During the sixteenth-century many people would attempt to stimulate themselves into spiritual awakening to get as close to God as possible. Thus, these might have been some of the visions people saw when attempting to jump into the unconscious depth and mystery of the spiritual visions.
Generally this work leaves a sense of mystery and kind of fear (or awe – a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder) as we all, human being, have fear of the unknown which happens after the physical death. At the same time, the light at the end of the tunnel brings some optimism that perhaps the soul has salvation and its journey goes on somewhere in the afterlife.