Tondal's Vision, Hieronymus Bosch, Oil, 1479

 Tondal's Vision, Hieronymus Bosch, Oil, 1479

        I love Hieronymus Bosch. He is one of my favorite classical artists. His artworks are always so intricate and bizarre. They remind me of the I-Spy books I read as a kid. There's so much to see and you could spend forever picking out small details. The use of colors that complement each other in such detailed work is amazing to me. The particular piece I chose to analyze today is a lesser-known work by Bosch compared to some of his more grandiose pieces that people know and recognize. Though it may not be as well-known, his bizarre imagery and style are recognizable.

   

    During Bosch's lifetime, he was commissioned by religious institutions and secular patrons. He is oftentimes noted to create pieces for the religious confraternity of the Brotherhood of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwe-Broederschap), which he was recorded to be a part of. He also carried out commissions for other churches and cathedrals. One of the most notable of his patrons though was Count Hendrik III of Nassau, who probably commissioned one of Bosch's most famous works: The Garden of Earthly Delights. 

    

Tondal's Vision is based on the illustrated manuscript, The Visions of the Kight Tondal by David Aubert and illustrated by Simon Marmion. The story was originally written by an Irish monk named Marcus in 1100. The story would later be translated into 15 different languages. The Visions of the Kight Tondal follows the soul of Tondal, a wealthy and errant knight who is guided through paradise and hell by an angel. After his journey, he changes his ways and vows to become a more pious and god-driven life.

    In Tondal's Vision Bosch recreates the scenes described. If the painting looks a little all over the place it's because different sections of the painting represent the different parts of the story. In The Visions of the Kight Tondal, these three places can be identified in Bosch's painting: 

      

                    1                                                             2                                                   3

 

1- The Beast Acheron, Devourer of the Avaricious 

2- The House of Phristinus: Punishment for Glutton and Fornicators ​

3- The Beast That Eats Unchaste Priests and nuns

   

    

    The Beast Acheron, Devourer of the Avaricious in Bosch's piece is represented by the large head with empty eyes. The House of Phristinus: Punishment for Glutton and Fornicators ​is shown in the top right corner where there is a building engulfed in flames. Also on the right side, the scene at the table illustrates the types of torture the souls faced in the house of Phristinus. The Beast That Eats Unchaste Priests and nuns and represented by just the small detail in the very bottom left. In The Visions of the Kight Tondal, the beast would eat any soul in reach. The souls would be digested, then defecated out. Then the souls would be renewed and the process would start again. Though instead of portraying the beast terrifyingly like Simon Marmion Bosch take a more satirical approach where one of the "souls" is riding atop the beast. 

Sources:

Doherty, Katelyn, "A Psychoanalytic Reading of Hieronymus Bosch's Tondals Vision" (2021). Art and Art History Presentations. 2. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/art_pres/2/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

“Les Visions Du Chevalier Tondal (the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection).” The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection, www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RWK#full-artwork-details. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

“Artist Info.” www.nga.gov, www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.986.html#:~:text=It%20has%20recently%20been%20shown. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

‌