The Tree-Man is a drawing that can be considered an artwork in its own right, as it is meticulously structured and more detailed than most of Bosch’s drawings. Although the central figure recurs in the right-hand panel of the Garden of Earthly Delights in slightly modified, yet quite similar form, this drawing is much more than a preparatory sketch. Surrounded by plants, trees, owls, and ducks, the tree-man is almost a natural object—part of the landscape, as it were. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. It is a fantasy creature, half tree, half human, with a taproom full of drinkers in its torso and on its head a jug, from which a ladder rises. It is precisely this combination of natural and quotidian elements rearranged and forged into a fantastical new creation that is characteristic of Bosch’s artistry. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna [http://boschproject.org/#/artworks/The_Tree-man/