Description of the picture:
Death and stingy (Death of a miser) – Jerome Bosch. Around 1485-1490. Wood, oil. 93×31
Bosch’s works are always mysterious, filled with numerous symbols, changing depending on the context, and signs, the meaning of which is now irretrievably lost.
The parable of greed is depicted in a long, vertically elongated picture. The action takes place gradually, from the bottom up. In the foreground, weapons and armor hint at power and strength as the primary source of wealth. Over time, wealth increases through usury, and it is seized by rats and salamanders. The rich man has a rosary in his hand, and a key to the chest is hanging on his belt. The last scene – the avaricious one faces a choice: to stay with the money, take a bag of coins that he hands him Greed with a toad face, or obey the guardian angel and turn your eyes to the crucifix and To god. The person is closely watching Devil, hanging from the high canopy of his bed while skinny Death in the doorway is waiting for the decision of the rich man – he will not be able to hide from her anyway. The winged dwarf in the foreground at the barrier is Bosch’s signature. Perhaps this is a self-portrait of a master who reflects with a smile about wealth and death."