On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02052
- Author
- Bosch, Hieronymus (Flemish)
- Title
- The Hay Wagon
- Chronology
- 1515
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 147 cm x 212 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCIONREAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Open, this triptych addresses the
subject of sin. The left panel
shows its origin on Earth, from the
fallen angels to Eve's sin. The
center shows humanity dragged into
sin. The hay wagon is a metaphor of
biblical origin that alludes to how
ephemeral and fleeting things are
in this world. This illustrates a
verse from Isaiah (Isaiah 40: 6-7)
“All flesh is grass, and all the
goodliness thereof is as the flower
of the field: The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth.” The closed
triptych depicts an aged pilgrim
walking the road of life, beset by
danger.
In the central panel, Bosch
recreates the Flemish proverb “the
world is like a hay wagon and each
person takes what they can.” All of
the powers-that-be, including the
clergy —censured for vices such as
avarice and lust— want to catch
that hay and climb onto the wagon.
They have no qualms about
committing all sorts of crimes to
do so, including murder.
Another version is in the Monastery
at El Escorial and is supposed to
be the one Felipe II bought from
Felipe de Guevara in 1570. The one
in the Prado must have also
belonged to Felipe II, even earlier
than Guevara's, but the first
document to mention it is the 1636
inventory of the Alcázar Palace in
Madrid.
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