The sphere

In the world of Bosch, nothing is what it seems. Everything is ephemeral and all comes crashing down. The faces of the lovers are transformed into vast purple fruits, extravagant vegetation blossoms from bare backsides, gigantic agaves emerge from the hard coral. And from the centre panel’s lake emerges a splendid bluish balloon used for the most colourful of sexual acrobatics. A space detached from reality, a dream scenario where the characters are trapped in a hedonistic existence with no regard for the consequences. But as a Flemish proverb reminds us, happiness, like the crystal of the glass itself, is fragile. And it will soon start to crack…