Why are we called “The Earthly Delights Podcast”?
It’s not a common name, let’s be honest - but there is reason behind the madness. As some of you may know I live in Madrid but unless you are familiar with Madrid you may not be aware that the Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) is home to “The Garden of Earthly Delights” which is a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch. As you can see in the picture below the painting is no normal painting and to say it catches the eye is an understatement.
I am no art critic but when I walked past this captivating painting I was perplexed. I had never seen a painting like it in my life and I couldn’t take my eyes off it so I just sat down and stared at it trying to compute what stood before me. Despite it being such a crazy painting it immediately resonated with me because of the state of mind I was in. To me it was clear what this work of art means and depicts perfectly. Clearly this is a three-part painting about depression…right? Obviously the first part refers to first being born and being completely innocent and good to the core. It is my belief that no baby is born bad or evil so clearly that’s what the first part is about. If you follow that logic it only makes sense that the second part depicts life as a growing adult, full of temptation and beauty, full of good and evil. Just like our brains which start off clean but through the passing of time can get sullied due to our lived experiences - we are no longer innocent naive babies. Therefore, the only logical end is that the final part of this triptych shows what depression looks like. There is no more light or beauty, just dark with evil creatures and sin all around.
After some research I found that there was no common consensus in the art world regarding the meaning of this piece, which means my critique wasn’t necessarily right but technically I wasn’t wrong either. It seems that even after 500 years the meaning of this fascinating painting is still up for debate. I, therefore, have stuck to my guns and still see this as a brilliant rendition of what it looks like to ride that rollercoaster of emotions and ultimately arrive at the destination we all fear - depression. This is why it seemed apt to name the podcast “The Earthly Delights Podcast”, in homage to a piece of art that still intrigues me to this day and, in my humble opinion, crystallises the mental health journey.
By Seb Siracusa
