2.3 Critical Analysis of The Garden of Earthly Delights.
It is considered that The Garden of Earthly Delights was not commissioned by the church, to serve as an altarpiece; it was created for educated secular patron for private viewing. The writings of Antonio de Beatis in 1517, inform that the work was seen in the Hotel of the House of Nassau in Brussels; implying thus that the likely patron was Hendrik III of Nassau. In 1568, the painting was confiscated by the Spanish from Henry's heir ( ref: ).
The exterior panel is thought to represent The Third Day of Creation, is painted in a green-grey grisaille technique. In the narrative sequence, it depicts the growth of plants and trees, the fragmentation of dark and light, as argued by Linfert (1989; ).
It was the prelude to the story depicted on the left side of the triptych, the final days of creation and the act of creating Eve. Psalm 32 (33) is commanded by an elderly figure of God in the top right hand corner, on the either side of the panel is inscribed:" He spoke and it was done; he commanded and it was created." Linfert (1989; ).
The narrative of the triptych on the inside of the panel is connected by the panoramic phantasmagorical landscape ( ref: ). The elements of the landscape are repeated in all three panels, with two vast areas of water, a central fountain, four mountain projections set against the horizon - on the right it is transformed into the city. The time is depicted through the seasons shown, from the lively springtime, hot summer in the central panel, to ice chilling winter on the right. This convention leads the eye from left to right. .
The left wing features the creation of Eve, set against fantastic looking landscape, filled with plants and animals. In the centre, the Fountain of Life is included. Four streams of water are flowing from plant looking branches, and in the circular base, sits an owl -believed by some critics to symbolize witchcraft, implicating that even in the final days of creation of mankind, damnation was inevitable.