''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'' is a painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch. or to a follower of his, completed around 1500 or later. Since 1898 its authenticity has been questioned several times. In 2015 the Bosch Research Conservation Project claimed it to be by a follower, but scholars at the Prado, where the painting hangs, dismissed this argument. The painting is oil on wooden panels and is presented in a series of circular images. Four small circles, detailing the

four last things In Christian eschatology, the Four Last Things or four last things of man ( la , quattuor novissima) are Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, the four last stages of the soul in life and the afterlife. They are often commended as a collective t ...

— Death, Judgment,

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

, and

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

— surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed,

gluttony Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols. In Christianity, it is considered a sin if ...

, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, using scenes from life rather than allegorical representations of the sins. At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription ''Cave cave d mi videt'' ("Beware, Beware, The Lord Sees"). Above and below the central image are inscription in Latin of

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

32:28–29, containing the lines "For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them", above, and "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" below.

Disputed authorship and dating

In 1560,

Felipe de Guevara Felipe de Guevara (died 1563) was a Spanish humanist, art writer and patron. Felipe was the illegitimate son of ambassador and art collector Diego de Guevara. He maintained close relations with people of the world of culture of his time. He was i ...

wrote about a pupil of Bosch, an unnamed ''discipulo'' (pupil), who was as good as his master and even signed his works with his master's name. Immediately after this, and without starting a new paragraph, Guevara refers to the painting of the ''Seven Deadly Sins'' as characteristic of his style. This led some scholars, as early as Dollmayr (1898) and most vocally Stechow (1966), to ascribe the work to this pupil. Most experts have argued since, however, that given the highly ambiguous nature of the passage, Guevara had probably returned to a description of the works of Bosch himself. Furthermore, the accuracy and authority of Guevara is suspect: when in 1570 Guevara's heirs sold a copy of '' The Haywain Triptych'' to

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

, it was made clear that Guevara had regarded that work as the original painted by Bosch himself, whilst nowadays it is known that his was a copy (displayed in El Escorial), of the original hanging in Prado. Philip II of Spain himself purchased the work (prior to 1560, probably from a monastery art sale) in the belief that ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was a Bosch original, and he always regarded it as such. It was his favourite Bosch painting and it hung in his own bedroom in El Escorial. When he donated the painting to El Escorial in 1574, it was cataloged as being a Bosch original; Silva Maroto argued that it is hard to believe that Guevara would question the authorship of Phillip's favourite Bosch in such an ambiguous passage, which as Maroto pointed out is part of a manuscript that remained unpublished until 1788. The alleged poor quality of the drawing had led to the incorrect belief it dates from Bosch's early period. The attribution to the ''discipulo'' was revived in the catalogue of the 2001 Bosch exhibition in Rotterdam, by Vermet and Vandenbroeck, who also suggested that several of the costumes suggest a much later date, around 1500, so that the awkward drawing and execution cannot be attributed to youthful imperfection. They also noted that the painting is not on oak, adding to their doubts about the attribution to Bosch. Nowadays, most art historians agree that the costumes point at a date in between 1505 and 1510; it is argued that the key characteristics of the underlying drawing, the way the pictorial surface was developed, and the variety of strokes are entirely consistent with Bosch's later paintings. Furthermore, the theme, symbolism and the composition itself is profoundly original, which would make it extremely unlikely that an unknown pupil could have painted it. In 2005, Ed Hoffman argued for the work being a copy, perhaps ordered by Philip II of Spain after the original had been damaged. In his view, the amateurish style, the plump figures, the lack of white highlights and the fact that the wooden panel is not oak but poplar (which can't be dated with

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

). An argument for the authenticity, or at least originality, of the work could be found in the pentimenti of the underpainting, which indicate it could not have been a simple faithful reproduction. In addition, there is no question the signature in the painting is that of Bosch himself, and not a

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...

.Ed Hoffman, 2005, "Een echte 'Jheronimus Bosch'? : Tien aandachtspunten", ''Bossche Bladen'' 3: 90-96 In October 2015, the Bosch Research and Conservation Project, which had been responsible, since 2007, for technical research on most of Bosch's paintings, rejected the attribution to Bosch and deemed it to be made by a follower, most likely the ''discipulo''. In response, the Prado Museum stated that they still consider the piece to be authentic.

Content

Each panel in the outer circle depicts a different sin. Clockwise from top (Latin names in brackets): #

Gluttony Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols. In Christianity, it is considered a sin if ...

(''gula''): A drunkard swigs from a bottle while a fat man eats greedily, not heeding the plea of his equally obese young son. # Sloth (''acedia''): A lazy man dozes in front of the fireplace while Faith appears to him in a dream, in the guise of a nun, to remind him to say his prayers. # Lust (''luxuria''): Two couples enjoy a picnic in a pink tent, with two clowns (right) to entertain them. # Pride (''superbia''): With her back to the viewer, a woman looks at her reflection in a mirror held up by a demon. # Wrath (''ira''): A woman attempts to break up a fight between two drunken peasants. # Envy (''invidia''): A couple standing in their doorway cast envious looks at a rich man with a hawk on his wrist and a servant to carry his heavy load for him, while their daughter flirts with a man standing outside her window, with her eye on the well-filled purse at his waist. The dogs illustrate the Flemish saying, "Two dogs and only one bone, no agreement". # Greed (''avaricia''): A crooked judge pretends to listen sympathetically to the case presented by one party to a lawsuit, while slyly accepting a bribe from the other party. The four small circles also have details. In Death of the Sinner, death is shown at the doorstep along with an angel and a demon while the priest says the sinner's last rites, In Glory, the saved are entering Heaven, with Jesus and the saints, at the gate of Heaven an Angel prevents a demon from ensnaring a woman. Saint Peter is shown as the gatekeeper. In Judgment, Christ is shown in glory while angels awake the dead, while in the Hell demons torment sinners according to their sins.

Details

''Seven Deadly Sins''

Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Gula).jpg,

(Gula) Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Accidia).jpg, Sloth (Accidia) Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Luxuria).jpg, Lust (Luxuria) Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Superbia).jpg, Pride (Superbia) Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Ira).jpg, Wrath (Ira) Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Invidia).jpg, Envy (Invidia) Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Avaricia).jpg, Greed (Avaricia)

''Four Last Things''

Jheronimus Bosch 4 last things (death).jpg, "Death of a sinner", angel and devil weigh a man's soul Hieronymus Bosch - The Seven Deadly Sins (detail) - WGA2501.jpg, "

" and the punishment of the seven deadly sins. Jheronimus Bosch 4 last things (Paradise).jpg, "Glory" or

Jheronimus Bosch 4 last things (Last Judgment).jpg, "

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

References