Joachim Patinir: Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx (1515-1524)

(Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain)

An painting made by the Flemish artist Joachim Patinir (1483-1524). Charon and the river Styx are two subjects from Greek mythology. Charon is the ferryman who carries the souls of the recently deceased across the river Styx to the world of the dead. In the Middle Ages this was combined with Christian believes with Charon transporting the souls of the damned to hell (for example in the Divine Comedy from 1308-20 by Dante Alighieri). Patinir here has divided the painting into three parts: the left part is Heaven with several angels and animals. The right part is a Jheronimus Bosch like hell which includes the three headed dog Cerberus. Charon himself is transporting a soul across the Styx. It is not known who commissioned this painting. The piece was probably a cabinet painting. The subject of the painting is probably a Memento Mori: Each man is responsible for choosing their ultimate destination when the hour of death arrives. Painting from around 1515-1524.