> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# A Demonic Fowl Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch Came to Life on the New York City Subway
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/a-demonic-fowl-inspired-by-hieronymus-bosch-came-to-life-on-the-new-york-city-subway/
- Published: 2018-09-18T14:04:26.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:09:43.000Z
- Description: The artist Rae Swon crafted the viral, hellish art garment.
- Author: Jasmine Weber
- Tags: In Brief, Etsy, Hieronymus Bosch, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-18 14:37 (2018)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/09/hell-bird-1460-2.jpg)

Bosch’s bird, come to life on the NYC subway (all images courtesy of Rae Swon unless otherwise noted)

A hellish, ice-skating bird person from Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Temptation of St. Anthony” has come to life, roaming the New York City subway. The charming-yet-demonic costume came to life via the hands of Brooklyn-based artist [Rae Swon](https://www.instagram.com/raeswon/?ref=hyperallergic.com), who works meticulously with needle felting to render mythical, nostalgic art garments.

The person-sized fowl comes from the raucous triptych of a meditating Saint Anthony, surrounded by a debaucherous hellscape from the Boschian dimension. Swon, a milliner, pinpointed the bird from the massive oil painting, her interest piqued by the metal funnel (and spindly branch) atop its head.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/09/hell-bird-1460-1.jpg)

A close up of the ice-skating bird (juxtaposed with a dead, real bird for scale)

Swon crafts a series of quirky and extremely unique oddity artworks, which she sells [on her Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/raeswon?ref=hyperallergic.com). There, the Hieronymus Bosch bird is described:

> This charming Bosch creature was needle felted, which is a labor-intensive process in which the creator stabs loose wool repeatedly with a barbed needle until in mattes together into a solid felt form. He’s also made from fabric, paper, paint, ball, a stick and a funnel.

The artist adds, “I recommend attaching something squishy, like a sweater or pillow, to the back of your neck to give yourself a hunchback.”

> i am so unbelievably delighted by this costume someone made and is selling of the ice-skating bird demon from hieronymus bosch's Temptation of St. Anthony triptych [https://t.co/a9K2vFHoAS](https://t.co/a9K2vFHoAS?ref=hyperallergic.com) [pic.twitter.com/lyuScnxQUu](https://t.co/lyuScnxQUu?ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> — ?alexis moore@AWA? (@alexisparade) [September 11, 2018](https://twitter.com/alexisparade/status/1039641757019820032?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)

Sadly for you, the costume is currently sold out on the artist’s [Etsy](https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.raeswon.etsy.com%2F&e=ATOuedow7Vuiz3E5-5WOBfi%5FOsEL0R0FyZiZzmzy2vy1ll2OmxRcpxNBFeCFuMphT8beLBYD%5Fb9py70&ref=hyperallergic.com).

The delightfully demonic bird went viral after the artist [Alexis Moore](http://alexis-moore.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) posted it on her Twitter on September 11\. Within a day, a lucky patron purchased the costume (which was favorited by 58 people before it ultimately sold).

If you’re regretting missing out on the one-of-a-kind costume, fret not. The five-star-reviewed artist offers a number of hand-crafted costumes, including a [Renaissance-era Ram head](https://www.etsy.com/listing/166319877/handmade-halloween-costume-renaissance?ref=related-5), complete with an Elizabethan neck ruff and cape, or the [severed head of Saint John the Baptist](https://www.etsy.com/listing/568168549/head-of-saint-john-the-baptist-purse?ref=shop%5Fhome%5Factive%5F52), perfect for carrying Halloween candy (or, if it’s your style, an everyday purse.)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/09/hell-bird-1460-3.jpg)

The voyeuristic fowl waiting for the express train

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/09/hell-bird-1460.jpg)

The bird and another eerie Rae Swon creation

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/09/hell-bird-1460-2-1.jpg)

A closer look at the bird

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/09/hieronymus_bosch_-_triptych_of_temptation_of_st_anthony_-_wga2585.jpg)

Hieronymus Bosch, “The Temptation of St. Anthony” (image via Wikimedia Commons)