Hieronymous Bosch "In the Gallery," Cineplex broadcast series

The Garden of Earthly Delights, c. 1495-1505

Fascinating overview of the oft-mistaken character of the artist and his other-worldly works. The comparisons I found between him and William Kurelek were astounding. Both thoughtful but not insane prophets of their times and the messengers of the need for self-reflection and restraint in this life. As John Franklin wrote in the Fall 2016 Imago newsletter, "...artists have the capacity to see what is coming in a culture and their work indicates the mood and values of a society." {Quoted with permission.} The details shown in this broadcast allowed for viewing just not possible in a book, even with a magnifying glass. Weirdnesses like his frequent depictions naked bodies with birds flying out of bottoms (!) and of owls; the interviewed historians noted them as harbingers of something ominous but here is a more nuanced suggestion:

Owl: the owl has a double meaning: 1) the perfidious Jews who, preferring darkness to light, reject Jesus, and 2) (from the Aberdeen Bestiary), "In a mystic sense, the night-owl signifies Christ. Christ loves the darkness of night because he does not want sinners - who are represented by darkness - to die but to be converted and live... The night-owl lives in the cracks in walls, as Christ wished to be born one of the Jewish people, saying: 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel'. But Christ is crushed in the cracks of the walls, because he is killed by the Jews. Christ shuns the light in the sense that he detests and hates vainglory... The night-owl flies at night in search of food, as Christ converts sinners into the body of the Church by preaching. In a moral sense, moreover, the night-owl signifies to us not just any righteous man, but rather one who lives among other men yet hides from their view as much as possible. He flees from the light, in the sense that he does not look for the glory of human praise."   (from https://www.fisheaters.com/symbols.html)