“Death and the Miser” by Hieronymus Bosch, depicts the last moment of the miser’s life. The artist uses single-point perspective and relatively bright colours to direct the viewer’s gaze towards the main subject, the pale, dying miser sitting in the pink bed. The room gathers with figures that are symbolic representations of the good and evil forces, an angel stands behind him with his left hand on his shoulder, and his right stretched upwards towards the crucified christ - the miser is protected by christ and the angel guides him to the path of heaven, urging him to resist the wicked temptation of the gold that is offered by the monster peeping through the curtains.
A demon creature sits on top of the bed frame and looks down on him, holding a burning lamp - representing the burning fire of hell. To the left hand side, death, holds an arrow that points at the miser - meaning death is inevitable for him - peeps through the half open door. Surprisingly, death wears a white robe - similar to the angel - as it is usually clothed in dark solemn colours. It is perhaps saying that death should not be feared and it isn’t the dooming end for humans.…show more content… He is bending forward, throwing a coin into the bag held by a rat, whilst he is holding on to his rosary - a portrayal that he may have had to commit acts that were against his morals and belief, selling his conscience to evilness. The opened chest represents a peer into the miser’s private life, open for all to judge his actions and decisions made throughout his life. Beneath the opened chest lies two rat-like demons with one holding up what seems to be a sealed letter - perhaps it is enclosed with the miser’s illicit