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Long before computer games were invented, Hieronymus Bosch was painting terrifying yet strangely likable monsters, often with a touch of humour. His works are assertive statements about the mental dangers that befall those who abandon the teachings of Christ. With a life that spanned 1450 to 1516, Bosch was born at the height of the Renaissance and witnessed its religious wars. Medieval traditions and values were crumbling, paving the way for a new universe where faith had lost its power and much of its magic. Bosch set out to warn doubters of the perils awaiting all and any who lost their faith in God. Believing that everyone had to make their own moral choices, he focused on themes of hell, heaven and lust, brilliantly exploiting the symbolism of a wide range of fruits and plants which lent his imagery strong sexual overtones.
