The Last Judgement
 

Triptych of Last Judgement. Last Judgement.
The Cask (central panel - detail)
Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Vienna

To the left of the detail shown on 'Frying Bodies' a scene of gluttony is represented. Here a gross figure drinks from a cask held up by an almost human demon. A good example of Bosch s creative vision can be seen in the fish monster approaching the table at which the drunkard sits. The fish, a symbol of lewdness. is changing or has changed into a two-legged soldier figure, fully armed but without a body and with legs emerging from its helmet. A different form of the metamorphosis process can be seen in the head of the drunkard, where, on the left, he is being supported by a particularly vicious looking demon. The red shape can be seen as a turban and the head can be seen looking to the left — a familiar child's game. In the background another figure, in the back kitchen, can be seen cooking some more human remains, or is she just pressing their blood into the pot that stands below the boiler?

Triptych of Last Judgement. Last Judgement.
A Musical Scene (central panel - detail)
Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Vienna

On the platform above the kitchen a sort of concert is being played for a female who is being embraced by a snake-like monster while a happy dragon looks on. A singularly revolting monster is twanging a mandolin on his head while a duck-like figure wearing hunting boots blows a hunting horn. The woman's long tresses suggest both Eve and the seductress, and she appears not yet to have become aware of her undoubted fate. To the left another female figure reclines in seemingly unconcerned contemplation of a slimy demon who is approaching her couch. Another monster is coiled behind her. The whole of this scene comments on the seductive effects of music and the female form.

Triptych of Last Judgement. Last Judgement.
The Urn (central panel - detail)
Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Vienna

A detail close to the Frying Bodies shows an arrow-pierced figure prepared for roasting on the spit while others hang like cured hams behind the fire. In the centre of the detail there is a blue painted metallic urn-like object in which naked unfortunates are being 'processed' by soldiers. It is difficult to determine precisely how it works but it looks extremely unpleasant. Behind this a green pot lies on its side and on it is a platform on which other unfortunates are towing a red object that suggests a millstone and is controlled by demons. Near the bottom of this panel there is a figure composed of only a head on legs, similar to one seen in the detail on The Cask. These 'gryllos', as they are called, appear frequently in Bosch's work, but their precise significance is not known.

Triptych of Last Judgement. Last Judgement.
Monsters with Knife (central panel - detail)
Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Vienna

In the bottom right corner of the panel are a group of monsters carrying a large knife, whose phallic symbolism is unmistakable. The funnel — the familiar symbol of deceit and intemperance - can also be seen in this complicated ensemble. The demons are varied. One is transforming from a fish into at least a scaly human leg while another, wrapped in the red shape, has a sharp beak and a keen eye. There is also a lizard leg emerging from the group. Another beaked figure is carrying a basket containing a human being and a demon. It is difficult, if not impossible, to explain all the forms that Bosch invents in terms of a Christian symbolism and it is very likely that some have no more than his creative imagination as their inspiration.

Triptych of Last Judgement. Hell (right wing - detail)
Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Vienna

The ultimate and permanent expectation for the damned, and in Bosch's view that would be most people, will be hellfire. torment, wailing and the gnashing of teeth. It is God's awful prospect for humankind. It was a subject that Bosch treated a number of times, always effectively but most potently, perhaps, only in the right wing of The Garden of Earthly Delights. Here, however, while the images are characteristically Bosch, the total effect does not fully cohere. Nevertheless there are a number of powerful inventions in the details.