Iconology of the Wayfarer Triptych – Detail

An angel kneels beseechingly behind the dying man and directs him towards his only Salvation: a crucifix that stands in front of a window, through which light is streaming. (p. 192)

There are many points of correspondence between Bosch’s painting and Ars moriendi images, such as the figure of Death as a shrouded skeleton, the juxtaposition of angel and devil on the headboard of the bed, and the oblique angle of the bed [Ars moriendi, ca. 1415-1450]. (pp. 17-18)

Almaengien’s theological conception emerges readily from the three fields of concentration… The field of most intense concentration, the vault, gives visual form to a text from Colossians -“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” [English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Colossians, 3:2] – by contrasting the clumsy chest with the light window framing the crucified Christ as the hope of the beyond. Not only is the whole perspective designed to draw the eye up to the vertex of the vault, but the text is even illustrated pantomimically. Two equally expansive arm movements, emphasized by the outstretched palms of the hands, catch and hold the eye through their striking parallelism: the old man’s arm reaching down into the treasure chest and that of the angel pointing upward to the crucifix. (p. 300)