
Detail; To Mohammedan paradise
Oil on cardboard, 50 x 70 cm
50 x 70 cm
Private collection
The Koran has for its subject matter death, resurrection, judgment, paradise, and hell. The joys of paradise are designed to satisfy fundamental desires in man. All who die for the cause of their religion go to paradise. This Mohammedan paradise is made delightful by beautiful black- eyed maidens (houris) not made of common clay. They are free from all blemishes; they are full of eternal virtue and beauty. They await the souls of believers in rosy bowers set in the hollow of giant pearls. The soil of paradise is perfumed and sprinkled with gold and silver and flowers…