Skip to Main Content
  Navigation Menu
      Admission is always free

          Open today:10:00  to 5:00
          Directions
           Play Artle
        Visit
      Visit
          
            Getting Here
          
            Accessibility
          
            Tours, Guides & Maps
          
            Food & Drink
          
            Gallery Shops
          
            Visitor Policies
  
  Collection
      Collection
          
            Highlights
          
            Search the Collection
          
            Artists Search
          
            Acquisition Highlights
          
            Stories
          
            Games
  
  Exhibitions
      Exhibitions
          
            Current
          
            Special Installations
          
            Upcoming
          
            On Tour
          
            Past
  
  Calendar
      Calendar
          
            Films
          
            Performances
          
            Talks
          
            Guided Tours
          
            After Hours
          
            Fun for Kids
          
            Festivals
          
            Workshops
  
  Learn
      Learn
          
            Teachers
          
            Families
          
            Teens
          
            Adults
          
            Learning Resources
          
            Music Programs
          
            Film Programs
  
  Conservation
      Conservation
          
            Projects
          
            Publications
          
            Resources
  
  Research
      Research
          
            The Center
          
            Publications
          
            Make an Appointment
          
            Archives
          
            Library
          
            NGA Online Editions
  
  Support
      Support
          
            Donate Now
          
            National Membership
          
            Circle Membership
          
            Leadership Groups
          
            Planned Giving
          
            Major Giving
          
            Gifts of Art
  
  Shop
      Shop
          
            Books
          
            Jewelry
          
            Apparel & Accessories
          
            Kids
          
            NGA Custom Prints
  
  Play Artle
            Previous Menu
              


  Search
  Hide Menu
  
  Home>Plan Your Visit>Tours, Guides, and Maps>Self-Guided Tours>Audio Stop 202
      

      
      Search Audio Stop 202 Select LanguageEnglishChineseKoreanSpanishJapanese
 Your browser does not support this audio player. play pause skip backward 15 seconds skip forward 30 seconds
 A naked man with ghostly white skin sits upright in a canopied bed set in a narrow room in this tall, vertical painting. Wearing a black cap, he looks to our left in profile toward a skeleton who comes through a door along the left edge of the composition. The man gestures at the skeleton with one hand and, with the other, toward a bag of money held up by a small demon next to the bed to our left. The skeleton wears a white shroud and holds an arrow. A winged angel kneels next to the man in the bed, one hand on the man’s shoulder and the other lifted to gesture at a crucifix hanging in the window over the door. A small devil on the canopy above looks down onto the bed. At the foot of the bed, a man wearing a green robe and headdress drops coins into a sack held by another demon. Three more demons crawl about and hide under the chest. Pieces of armor and weapons lie on the ground to the right in front of a stone ledge in the foreground. Two pieces of clothing drape over the ledge to our left.
 Hieronymus Bosch *Death and the Miser*, c. 1485/1490 Filmmaker Jem Cohen and National Gallery of Art director Kaywin Feldman discuss the intrigue and timelessness of Bosch’s powerful painting.
 Read full audio transcriptNARRATOR:
This unsettling scene by Hieronymous Bosch presents us with a classic cautionary tale. Kaywin Feldman, Director of the National Gallery of Art.
KAYWIN FELDMAN:
In the story, we see that as death approaches the miser, in fact I sort of see death peering around the door as a kind of macabre room service, and he is reminding the miser that his time has come, and the little demons are offering the bags of money, and meanwhile the angel is looking up towards the crucifix and encouraging the miser to think of God and, to give up sinful ways.  
NARRATOR:
The figure in green represents the miser earlier in life. He greedily counts gold coins while a nearby rat clutches a money-lending document.
Filmmaker Jem Cohen: 
JEM COHEN: 
What would be a flashback in the cinema can be simultaneous in a painting - a different moment from the same story placed elsewhere in the picture so the viewer cuts from one to the other. Here, the demon’s already inside the chest taking possession of that which can't be possessed, or not for long, by mortal humans - which is to say, riches. So this is a ‘you can't take it with you’ painting from a very different era that remains bitterly relevant today. Today those sacks might be full of stocks and bonds or Bitcoin, but greed is greed and hoarding is hoarding, so it's very timeless.  
NARRATOR:
Bosch’s signature monsters are everywhere - they’re incredibly inventive. 
JEM COHEN: 
The demon under the curtain looks just like the Creature from the Black Lagoon - a testament to Bosch’s resonance in popular culture.
KAYWIN FELDMAN:
There’s an angel seated behind the miser and has one hand in fact on the miser’s shoulder, and the angel is pointing up towards the window where there’s a crucifix and light descending, and it’s a moment for the miser to reconsider and mend his ways.
NARRATOR:
There is much we still don’t know about Bosch’s painting. It may have been part of an altarpiece that presented a fuller narrative of the struggle between good and evil - we are left with many unanswered questions. Infra-red imaging revealed that Bosch too was unsure how this story would end.
KAYWIN FELDMAN:
Originally, Bosch painted the miser grasping the bag of coins that the little monster is offering him, and in his other hand he had some silver chalices, and you can see in this final version that Bosch changed his mind. So, we’re not really quite sure what direction the miser is going to go.
What’s particularly timeless I think about Bosch is that he holds a mirror up and shows humanity what it looks like.  And to his credit, that mirror is just as relevant, funny and piercing today as it was 500 years ago when he painted the picture. West Building Tour: Featured Selections
 Enter stop number 
 Stop not found. Please try a different number.








Stay connected Learn more about our exhibitions, news, programs, and special offers.
 Email Address for National Gallery newsletter subscription


About About the National Gallery
    
        Stories
    
        Press
    
        FAQs
    
        Contact Us
 Plan a Visit Getting Here
    
        Accessibility
    
        Today's Tours
    
        Food & Drink
    
        Calendar
    
        Downloadable Map
 Get Involved Donate
    
        Membership
    
        Volunteer
    
        Opportunities
    
        Shop Online
 Resources Search the Collection
    
        Conservation
    
        Library
    
        Archives
    
        The Center
    
        Film Programs
    
        Music Programs
    
        Audio/Video
    
        Open Access Images


Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily West Building6th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter or exit from Constitution Avenue, 4th Street, or 7th Street. The Madison Drive entrance is currently closed. East Building4th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter and exit from 4th Street. Sculpture Garden7th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter and exit from 7th Street, Constitution Avenue, or Madison Drive. We are closed on December 25 and January 1.
 The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.


Twitter
          Facebook
          Instagram
		      Pinterest
          YouTube
 © 2024 National Gallery of Art   Notices   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy