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The Haywain Triptych
Hieronymus Bosch · Renaissance & Mannerism
- Artist
- Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516)
- Date
- c. 1512–1515
- Dimensions
- 135 x 190 cm (open)
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Location
- Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
The Haywain Triptych is a moral allegory in three panels about human greed. Read from left to right, it moves from paradise and the fall of humankind, through the follies of earthly life, to the torments of hell.
A closer look
In the central panel an enormous cart piled with hay, a symbol of worldly goods that are worthless in the end, is dragged along by demonic creatures. People of every rank, from the pope and emperor to peasants and monks, scramble and fight to grab handfuls of hay, while lovers play music on top of the cart, ignoring an angel who prays to Christ appearing in the clouds. The procession heads relentlessly towards the right wing, where demons are building a tower in hell. The image draws on a Flemish saying: 'the world is a haystack; each takes what he can grab'.
