Hieronymus Bosch and Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights (detail)

'Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights' (c.1480-1505) by Hieronymus Bosch;
Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, born c. 1450 and died on 9 August 1516, is a painting that's truly one of a kind. I have never seen anything like it. When I was at the Prado in Madrid some years ago, I entered a room and stumbled upon a huge crowd standing in front of a painting. I couldn't see what painting it was and wondered what could interest such an audience. Well, it's this painting. It's totally different from what I usually like. Maybe 'like' here is not even an adequate word. It's mesmerising, it's a masterpiece, it's mind-boggling really. There is so much to see and it's unbelievable that Bosch painted this in the fifteenth century. He had an immense imagination and eye for detail. This is a painting that one never gets tired of. I'm planning to go to Madrid this or next year and will go and see the painting again. I'll make sure I will read about it first. The Wikipedia page (click link above) gives a lot of information on the painting and the painting is also being displayed in Google Earth. If you are curious about its painter, there's a link above as well.