Paintings of Hieronymus Bosch
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Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450 – August, 1516) was a prolific Dutch painter of the 15th and 16th century. Many Hieronymus Bosch paintings depict sin and human moral failings. Bosch used images of demons, half-human animals and machines to evoke fear and confusion to portray the evil of man. The works contain complex, highly original, imaginative, and dense use of symbolic figures and iconography, some of which was obscure even in his own time. He is said to have been an inspiration to the surrealism movement in the 20th century.
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[edit] The Extraction of the Stone of Madness (The Cure of Folly)
The Extraction of the Stone of Madness (The Cure of Folly), completed between 1475 and 1480, depicts the extraction of a "stone" from a patient's head, a common operation in Bosch's time; however, Bosch has exchanged the traditional "stone" as the object of extraction with a flower. Another flower is on the table. It is possible that the flower is pun on "tulip head" - meaning mad in Netherlands. Another possibility is that the flower hints that the doctor is a charlatan (as does the funnel hat). The book on the nun's head also is considered to indicate folly.
[edit] The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych circa 1504. The Garden of Earthly Delights is perhaps Bosch's best-known work. It depicts the creation of Earth and the infiltration of sin into mankind. It is currently hanging in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.
[edit] Details from the Hell panel
- The face staring out from under the dish holding the pink bagpipes is said to be a portrait of Bosch himself.
- The woman near the bottom, under the bird's chair, in the clutches of a monster, staring into a mirror (which is also the rear end of some creature), is guilty of the deadly sin of pride (vanity).
- The person defecating coins into the pit under the bird's chair is guilty of the deadly sin of avarice.
- The man nearby, vomiting into the same pit, is guilty of the deadly sin of gluttony.
[edit] The Haywain Triptych
The Haywain Triptych is a triptych oil painting on wood panels begun in 1485 and completed in 1490. The centre panel measures 140 by 100 cm, and the wings measure 147 by 66 cm. The painting currently hangs in the San Lorenzo monastery at El Escorial in Spain.
[edit] The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, completed in 1485 is an oil painting on wood panels, in the form of a tabletop. The painting is at the Museo del Prado.
The painting is presented in a series of circular images: four small circles, detailing "Death", "Judgement", "Hell", and "Glory", surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted. At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image lies the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God is Watching").
[edit] Ship of Fools
Ship of Fools (painted c. 1490–1500) shows prodigal humans wasting their lives by playing cards, drinking, flirting, eating, etc. instead of spending it in "useful" ways. The painting is oil on wood, measuring 58 x 33 cm (23 x 13"). It is on display in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Ship of Fools was part of a triptych, now separated. The Ship of Fools was the left panel inside upper part. The other sections are:
- Allegory of Gluttony and Lust (left inside bottom section), now in the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.
- Death of the Miser (right panel inside), now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
- The Wayfarer (outside of both wing panels), now in the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam
[edit] The Temptation (or Temptations) of St. Anthony
The Temptation of St. Anthony is an oil painting on wood panels circa 1505. The centre panel measures 131.5 by 119 cm, and the wings measure 131.5 by 53 cm. The painting currently hangs in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon.
[edit] Other works
- The Epiphany (The Adoration of the Magi) (1490-1498) in the Prado Museum in Madrid and another version in the Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia (copy)
- Ecce Homo in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (workshop), and original version in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt (after 1476)
- St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness (after 1495) in the Museo Lazaro Galdian in Madrid forming a couple with: St. John the Evangelist on Patmos (after 1490) in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin (after 1495)
- 'Scenes from the Passion of Christ and the Pelican with Her Young' on the backside of St. John the Evangelist on Patmos (naturally, also in Gemäldegalerie, Berlin)
- The Last Judgement (after 1482) in the Academie für Bildenden Künste in Vienna
- St. Jerome at Prayer (after 1482) in the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Ghent
- Christ hanging from the cross (after 1483) Brussels
- Christ Crowned with Thorns (after 1530) in El Escorial in Madrid (Bosch-follower)and original version in the National Gallery in London (after 1485)
- Last Judgement (after 1486) in Bruges
- a series of four panels in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice Ascent of the Blessed, Terrestrial Paradise, Fall of the Damned, Hell, all dating after 1490
- St. Christopher Carrying the Christ Child (1490–1500) in the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam
- The Marriage Feast at Cana (1500) copy in the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (copy)
- Christ Carrying the Cross (1485–1490) in the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Ghent, a second version in the Kunsthistorische Museum in Vienna, and a third version in the Palacio Real in Madrid
- The Conjurer (1500s) in the Musée Municipal in St.-Germain-en-Laye