Visions of the Hereafter: Hell

Around 1490 Bosch painted four narrow panels that trace where a soul goes after death, two toward heaven and two toward hell. This is one of the dark ones. Devils drag the damned down through a black gorge while fire spits up through cracks in the rock and sudden flashes light the sky above. Its opposite among the four is the well-known panel where blessed souls float up a glowing tunnel toward a distant light. What was new here was the focus on the single soul making that journey, rather than a crowded Last Judgment with Christ enthroned over everyone. Bosch worked for private patrons who wanted images to meditate on, and these small upright panels were most likely meant to be studied closely, one at a time.