Painting by Hieronymus Bosch The Garden of Earthly Delights: strawberries and hidden meanings

Strawberries in the painting of the Middle Ages harbored hidden meanings. And it is not surprising that Jheronimus Bosch, when creating the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, used the image of strawberries to display sinful passions in the central part of the triptych. Here the man wrapped his arms around a huge berry and dug his teeth into it. Under sprawling apple trees, a suitor treats a girl sitting on the grass with strawberries. And on the lawn there is a large group of people trying to hold on to a huge strawberry.

The strawberries in Bosch’s painting are unnaturally large, juicy-looking and appetizing. Could the painter have chosen another fruit that would symbolize the sin of voluptuousness more vividly and accurately? Of course not. It is only strange that in an era of emphasized impatience for human vices and fierce worship of church dogmas, the strict censorship of confessors turned out to be so loyal to the frank content of the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights. If initially in European culture wild strawberries and strawberries were perceived as a symbol of righteousness and childbearing, then gradually the attitude towards it changed. So, in the XII century, the nun Hildegard of Bingen called for avoiding eating strawberries, as snakes crawled and frogs jumped on the berry growing too close to the ground.

What meaning did Bosch put into these scenes?

In the 15th century, fragrant wild berries came to Europe, and, having hit the tables of aristocrats, almost immediately replenished the royal menu. Henry II, for example, the doctor persistently recommended it as a medicinal plant and urged to plant it in gardens, convincing that this way it becomes both larger and juicier. Royal courtiers already in those days enjoyed strawberries with cream, which was inaccessible to ordinary people. As, however, and other charms of the rich and carefree life of high society. Strawberries have become a favorite delicacy of lovers, an aphrodisiac and a berry used in magical rituals.

Therefore, when in the picture two people feed each other with strawberries, the biblical scene takes on the outlines of a courtly novel. And this is a sin, a vice, about which the picture literally screams. And a huge berry over a crowd of naked people – this, apparently, is also about promiscuity and carnal love.

The first descriptions of the picture often sounded like a “strawberry picture”, which seems unfair, because it is replete with other berries and fruits. But the strawberry is not just present in the picture, it plays a certain role assigned to it by Bosch. Unfortunately or fortunately, the master did not leave an explanation for the plot of the canvas. Apparently, he believed that he already told the viewer too much information.