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The central panel of this triptych illustrates the kneeling figure of St Anthony being tormented by devils. These include a man with a thistle for a head, and a fish that is half gondola. Bizarre and singular as such images seem to us, many would have been familiar to Bosch's contemporaries because they relate to Flemish proverbs and religious terminology. What is so extraordinary is that these imaginary creatures are painted with utter conviction, as though they truly existed. He has invested each bizarre or outlandish creation with the same obvious realism as the naturalistic animal and human elements. His nightmarish images seem to possess an inexplicable surrealistic power.
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Sherlock03 12 years, 1 month ago
Wow, that is an amazing piece of work. For some reason I want to draw some teashades on Saint Augustine while he dangles a broken cigarette from his mouth, and in the caption write, "Its only a matter of time before they tear us to shreds".
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