Hieronymus Bosch
Hieronymus Bosch was a Flemish artist who lived from circa 1450 to 1516. Bosch is associated with the Early Netherlandish Painting school that was prevalent during the Northern Renaissance during his lifetime. Today, Bosch is remembered for his fantastical paintings depicting religious subjects. Even during his life, Bosch and his works were quite well-known and popular.
Bosch was born as Jheronimus van Aken in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, or Den Bosch, in the Netherlands. He was essentially born into his trade. His grandfather, father, uncles, and most of his brothers were artists as well. Even though Bosch never left his hometown until well after he was married and successful, his art was well-respected, and he was commissioned by many noble families throughout Europe. Bosch was known as the “creator of devils”, playing on the obsession with morality that was the cultural norm of his time. He depicted a fantastical and detailed world, highlighting humans, their earthly temptations, and sins, amongst monsters and chaos.
In 1488, Bosch joined a popular and respected religious group centered in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady, of whom his father had served as artistic advisor. This was a religious fraternity that was established to promote the worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Hieronymus Bosch died in 1516 at approximately 66 years of age.
Today we have approximately 25 to 30 paintings that remain that have been attributed to Bosch, though there is still debate around that. Thankfully, he did sign seven of his pieces, though that was not a popular practice in his day. His preferred medium was oil on oak panels. Not much is known of Bosch’s thoughts towards his art, as he left no diaries or written texts. What we do know is that Bosch inspired many artists, including Pieter Bruegel the Elder. And what we still have are the intense and vivid worlds that he created and left for us.
Back to the Artists page.
You can learn about different art movements here.
