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35: Hieronymus Bosch • The Hell Panel (The Garden of Earthly Delights Part II)

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CHAPTER

The Naked Man's Lab, Part 2

Bosch is a master of using these visual echoes and subversions. This light red robe tells us to associate this man with the church, but his position behind the pig-none indicates he likely holds a low station in the church. We have every indication to believe he is a courier or an assistant of a church official. The black toad on his shoulder represents greed. And there's one more animal, Bosch is hidden. All of this symbolism combined points us more clearly to an interpretation of one of Bosch's most confusing scenes.

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