When we look at Bosch’s triptych, three windows open before us.
To one side, the window of Paradise reveals the power of creation and order. It’s an Apollonian terrain. A unique place where everything is in harmony. A Garden. A garden where nature becomes refuge, where dreams once imagined take form
On the opposite side, we encounter Hell. The place where we face our fears and failures. A space of darkness, where overwhelming surroundings reflect the monsters that reason’s sleep has awakened.
At the center, between the sweetness of heaven and the fire of damnation, lies something more complex. A window into everything that exists between the power to create and the fear of failing. A window into possibility itself. A whirlwind of emotions that, despite their perfect arrangement, radiate chaos.
Facing Bosch can feel chaotic. If we enter this symbolic battlefield unarmed, we may fall to confusion. But with the right tools, and the right guidance, giants become windmills. Focus, and monsters turn into brushstrokes. Suddenly, what once overwhelmed us begins to make sense.
Similarly, the blank page (filled with infinite potential) can feel overwhelming. But with each tool we learn to use, the size of the challenge shrinks, and our creative power expands.
So what lies between the cold calm of the blank page and the heat of artistic battle? Between not understanding Bosch and falling in love with his vision? Between paradise and hell? The garden itself. You.
Unknowingly, while researching the unknown, while choosing your weapons to confront a painting, while dreaming of success and confronting the fear of failure, you were cultivating yourself.
You were discovering history, art, Granada. Learning to paint with watercolors. Visiting places you had never seen before. Drop by drop, you were watering your own garden. Your Garden.
And every drop poured into exploring the unknown bears a delicious fruit. Every experience, a delight.
By the end of this journey (from hell to paradise, from beginning to end, from knowing to unknowing) you will have cultivated something far more important.
You will have cultivated your own Garden of Earthly Delights.
By Miguel P. Viviani
