The Hay Wain Triptych represents a Flemish proverb, "The world is a hay wagon and each seeks to grab what he can." (pg. 331) The oil on panel is located in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. As with most paintings that adopt proverbs, this painting conveys a life lesson, the representation concerning the corruption that accompanies greed. While the Hay Wain deals with proverbs, Harvesters illustrates ordinary, mundane life. This genre painting, one panel of six, is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The left panel of the Hay Wain represents God taking one of Adam's ribs and creating Eve beneath a sky of falling angels. The angles are those that have been thrown out. In this panel the viewer is starting their journey in Eden.
