Description
The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych. In other words, it has three panels: a large one in the center, which depicts the main subject, flanked by two smaller ones. The paintings are, however, intended to be read sequentially, left to right, to show the overall meaning. The outer panels are hinged; and the whole thing can be closed up to show another painting on the exterior.
The left hand panel depicts Eden, where God presents to Adam the newly created Eve. However, God is absent from the central panel, which shows humanity acting with free will, engaging in various sexual activities in a broad panorama of nude figures, fantastical animals, and oversized fruit. The right hand panel, which is a hell scape showing the fantastic torments meted out to the damned, is believed to show God’s vengeance for the sins depicted in the central panel.
Bibliography
https://foreverknight.fandom.com/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights
