Lust and music in The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid

Abstract

There are three research goals set forth in this article. The first is to show the connection of lust with music in the Prado panel, within the context of representations of the personification of impure love in Bosch's undisputed works (the Wayfarer Triptych, the Haywain Triptych). The second research objective is an attempt to indicate the basic sources of inspiration for the painter. The article closes with the interpretation of musical elements in the scene of lust. The presence of common elements (among others: suitors/ lovers, a jester, musical instruments, wine and fruit) in the analysed works proves the existence of a coherent artistic system in the Bosch workshop based on a mental-ideological foundation. Of the iconographic sources of inspiration for the painter that we have considered the most important are representations of Garden of Love and Children of Venus. In the scene of lust the figure that plays a leading role is the jester. He is not only interpreted as a musician but also as the embodiment of socially undesirable behavior.