• skisnow@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    Don’t forget Bosch’s standards would have been lower - he died three years before chocolate arrived in Europe, half a century before the invention of gelato, and 473 years before the release of unrelated Belgian techno anthem “Pump Up the Jam”.

    • SSTF@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Strawberries were symbolic of purity, so there is a lot of allusion happening in this painting which is actually a three panel piece.

      As for what that allusion is, there’s actually debate on that. Some people think the middle panel was meant to represent a fall to earthy decadence. People are devouring the strawberries, leading to ruin and Hell in the final panel. The alternate interpretation is the center shows an aspirational paradise, a heaven on earth located between Christ and Hell and in contrast to Hell.

      I personally vibe with the first interpretation.