roberto benavidez recreates creatures from early 16th century altarpiece as piñatas

roberto benavidez’s most recent series of fantastical paper piñata creatures is inspired by hieronymus bosch’s early 16th century altarpiece, ‘the garden of earthly delights.’ over 500 years after the altarpiece’s completion, benavidez recreates bosch’s creative characters in a new medium — employing themes of sin, sexuality, and humor.

each creature originates from hieronymus bosch’s altarpiece, ‘the garden of earthly delights’
image by roberto benavidez

roberto benavidez’s chosen medium represents aspects of his own identity — a blend of both mexican and european roots. captivated by bosch’s creation of strange worlds, odd creatures, and use of distorted perspective, benavidez transforms a 2D world into a series of tangible, 3D paper animations. 

over 500 years after the altarpiece’s completion, benavidez recreates bosch’s creative characters in a new medium

throughout his artistic career, the artist has worked with sculpture, photography, and print, before experimenting with paper-mâche. turning to his mexican roots, the traditional mexican star-shaped piñata with seven points also represents a daring message. unknown to many, each of the points represent one of the seven deadly sins, highlighting a clear parallel between the chosen medium and bosch’s avant-garde altarpiece.

the subject matter and medium employ themes of sin, sexuality, and humor

the artist’s chosen medium represents aspects of his own mexican-european identity

the artist was inspired by bosch’s strange worlds and odd creatures

the artist transforms a 2-d world into a series of tangible, 3-d paper creatures