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Hieronymus Bosch 1450-1516 One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time The Greatest Gothic Painter of the Northern Renaissance Influences -illuminated manuscripts , Jan van Eyck, black death, Dieric Bouts , and Rogier van der Weyden The most fantastic and intriguing artist in the history of the World
Hieronymus Bosch was Born as Jeroen van Aken although he signed his paintings as Jheronimus Bosch in order to bring recognition to his birthplace, Hertogenbosch, a small town in the province of North Brabant in Holland. Bosch made himself a name as a visionary. He had a taste for the poetic and his use of symbols are secretive hints and glances into the mysterious world that lies behind the painted one. All those grimacing images which were customary in medieval decorative art, especially in the stone ornaments of Gothic cathedrals and the wood carvings of choir stalls, were transferred by him to panel painting. He is especially fond of giving fishes the wings of bats and of creating strange monstrosities by commingling the forms of animals and vessels. His practice of them the form of an alter is characteristic of their significance. Whether he presents the seven Deadly Sins, the Ship of Fools, the Pleasures of the World or the Temptation of St. Anthony, it is always a sermon beginning with the fall of man and ending with hell. At a time when gluttony and wild sensuality followed upon the mortifications of the flesh, he swung the heavy moral club and practiced the art of " hanging people in colors". Bosch painted the same Capuchin sermons with which Sebastian Brandt, Geiler von Kaisersperg, and Thomas Murner regaled their listeners. Like Quentin Massys, he was also fond of painting biblical scenes in half-size figures, in which he appears as a sharp and malicious physiognomist. His line engravings, Gluttony, Avarice, and Drunkenness are further examples in which fantastical genre painting, though under an allegorical cloak, ventures forth. Themes like the dance of the cripples, surgical operations, and quack doctors became especially popular in painting.
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During his lifetime Hieronymus Bosch was a celebrated and respected master painter. His work was commissioned and collected by royalty, the church and wealthy patrons. While it is true that he dabbled in alchemy and possibly sorcery. It should be understood that in medieval times many men tried their hand at the darker arts just as men today put together wood working projects or build model railroads. It is a
foolish myth
to believe that the intellectual Boshe spent his entire artistic career in the small Dutch
town of Hertogenbosch. It is documented that he was commissioned by
Philip the Handsome and to suppose the powerful King came to some rude
cottage to sit for a portrait is absurd. Hieronymus was a widely traveled, highly educated man. He was a connoisseur of fine spirits and rich foods with a strong liking for sinful pleasures and erotic diversions. Boshe was extremely influential within his circle of local painters and fine craftsmen. While it is true that Hieronymus was a member of a extreme religious society called the Brotherhood of Mary, it is also true that everyone of distinction belonged to this society. He received a number of financially lucrative commissions from the Brotherhood. Boshe was a shrewd business man and new exactly where his bread was buttered. Hieronymus was also a member of the notorious Brethren of the Free Spirit, also known as Adamites, an obscure cult which practiced free love, wanton promiscuity and same sex encounters in an effort to achieve the purity of the Adam and Eve before the fall. It is understandable that later generations accused him of heresy because they didn't comprehend his great visionary works. © HistoryofPainters.com If you like this page and wish to share it, you are welcome to link to it, with our thanks. If you feel you have worthwhile information you would like to contribute we would love to hear from you. We collect essential biographical information and artist quotes from folks all over the globe and appreciate your participation. When submitting please, if possible, site the source and provide English translation. Email to millardmulch@gmail.com copyright 2011 - historyofpainters.com
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