Iconology of the Wayfarer Triptych – Detail

The dog identified as a symbol of Evil… [Bosch, ca. 1512-1515; English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Psalm, 22:16] (p. 39)

The two Hearers [Bosch, ca. 1512-1515, “The Haywain Triptych”] are tempted by Satan’s world, and, as Cathars, they are also persecuted by it. This is hinted at in both works by the fierce dog, wearing the same spiked collar as the ‘Dominican’ in the National Gallery Crowning with Thorns [Bosch, ca. 1510, “The crowning with thorns”], which barks at the peddlers’ feet and staffs. This demonic animal is an image of the Church Inquisitors who threaten and torment the Cathar believers as they travel through the world of matter. The same message is repeated in the left background of the Haywain panels [Bosch, ca. 1512-1515, “The Haywain Triptych”], where a meek and unresisting man is tied to a tree by brigands. This scene has a clear resemblance to Bosch’s depiction of the thief (standing to the right of the picture) on the exterior of the Lisbon St Anthony [Bosch, ca. 1500, “Temptations of St. Anthony”; Harris, 1995, 146-152]. Like the latter, it represents an unfortunate Cathar heretic submitting to the persecutions of the demonic members of the Church hierarchy. The lot of the Hearer is difficult in more than one way. It is not surprising that Bosch’s pilgrims look troubled as they travel through the world. (p. 165)

There is a striking similarity between the aggressive dog in the painting and the animal in an engraving by Israhel van Meckenem [Koreny, 1986, no. 481; Moxey, 1989, 109-111]. On closer examination, we find that the theme of the print also offers interesting comparative material for the painting. The print shows a meeting between a young noblewoman hunting for ‘true fidelity’ (echte trouw) and a clergyman, speaking from experience, who tells her she will only find it in God (goede). The dog – traditionally a symbol of fidelity – is far from well-disposed towards the man, making it an ironic illustration of his point. (p. 321)

The dog to the lower left Saturnian symbol which as such also occurs in Dürer’s famous Melencolia* I [Pigler, 1950, 132; Panofsky, Giehlow & Saxl, 1923, 69:note 2; Dürer, 1514] (p. 6)

The dog appearing in the Rotterdam painting seems to have been an attribute for the Melancholic in particular, not only a Saturnian symbol in general [Panofsky, Giehlow & Saxl, 1923, 69, 69:note 2]. (p. 10:note 24)

…as de Bruyn points out, the snarling watchdog, wearing a spiked collar (akin to the tormentor of Christ in Bosch’s London Christ Crowned with Thorns [Bosch, ca. 1510] presents an unambigously ominous threat to the wandering peddler [de Bruyn, 2001 (Hieronymous Bosch’s So-Called Prodigal Son Tondo), 137-139; Marrow, 1977, 167-181, 174-178; Mellinkoff, 1993, 147-159]. De Bruyn associates the animal with the well-known, still-extant phrase “hellhound”… (p. 256)