by brennan biemann

Near the top left corner of Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights sits an intricate golden tower with birds circling through it into the sky above. This structure is located on the leftmost panel of Boch's triptych, depicting humanity's beginnings. Below the structure, the first animals explore the young, untamed wilderness of the earth while even further down, God, painted in the form of Jesus Christ, instructs Adam and Eve to "Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis). This panel portrays the innocent beginning of humanity and its world. The imagery abounds with themes of possibilities, potential, and hope for the future of the planet and the human race. The golden tower reflects this imagery with birds circling through it to the sky above. 
   Leonardo Da Vinci was the first known human to take a step towards flight. His obsession with breaking this barrier that had kept humans trapped on the ground since their beginning began with birds. "He produced more than 35,000 words and 500 sketches dealing with flying machines, the nature of air, and bird flight. In the Codex, On the Flight of Birds, Leonardo outlined a number of observations and beginning concepts that would find a place in the development of a successful airplane in the early twentieth century," (National Air and Space Museum). Da Vinci spent his life sketching, prototyping, and building various attempts at a flying machine, based on what he observed about lift and aerodynamics from birds. Although he was never successful, he was the first human to take meaningful steps toward flight.
Humanity's journey toward the stars may have started with Da Vinci in the 15th century, but it would continue for countless generations. The first hot air balloon was launched in Versialle in 1783, and the Wright Brothers took flight in 1903. Boch's painting similarly shows the passage of time and the progression of humanity through it using its panels. This ability to establish the connection between eras is something he is known for in the art historical world. "Bosch's really important role in art history is the way he links the past and the present," (Campbell-Johnston). This idea of humanity's journey inspired my addition to the painting, Da Vinci's Birds.
I interpolated humanity's journey towards flight into the birds circling up through the tower. At the base, I have a self-portrait done by Da Vinci of himself looking up at what is to come. Next are his sketches of flying machines, followed by a drawing from Versaille's newspaper that published the news of the first hot air balloon. The birds then swoop back through the tower, symbolizing a significant transition in flight technology. On the other side of this shift is Sputnik, the first artificial object to orbit the earth and then a space shuttle. The birds swoop back through the structure again, signaling another significant change in humanity's journey. Elon Musk is on the other side, demonstrating that space exploration is no longer driven by national pride or research but by private businesses. Finally, SpaceX's starship, most likely the first vessel to carry humans to another planet, points off toward Mars in the distance. 
This journey illustrating humanity's desperation to escape the confines it has been given mirrors the progression of Boch's triptych. Art, because it speaks to so many, is an incredibly effective tool to communicate ideas across centuries. "Art remains the best way of passing on the complexity and value of human experience, generation to generation, across time" (Jeanne Witterson). It has been human nature to push the boundaries set before us since our creation. This sentiment connects Da Vinci to Musk and Bosch to Hannah Arendt, who also articulated this in the prologue to The Human Condition. Shortly after Sputnik had been successful, she stated it was a crucial turning point and questioned whether an unrelenting, unquestioning push for scientific progress was healthy for humanity. In this piece, I compare that innate human need to break barriers to Bosch's depiction of humankind giving into other vices and suffering the consequences.