Hieronymus Bosch

History's first surrealist painter and one of my all time favorite artists: Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516). 

Allegory Of Gluttony And Lust

I discovered Bosch when I was very young and I was immediately infatuated by his weird and original style. 

Here is one of my treasure boxes with transferred images of The Wayfarer and The Last Judgement (with found objects, mosaic, jewelry parts).

Hieronymus Bosch was hundreds years ahead of his time, and his unique and (sometimes) disturbing paintings continue to influence many contemporary artists.
Bosch cleverly depicted scenes of everyday life of his period with a strong element of the bizarre with many complex ambiguities. He was obsessed with human sins and their consequences, using metaphors drawn from biblical and folkloric sources, fantasies and nightmares. The artist lived in a period of transition from medieval Gothic to the era known as the Renaissance. There is no doubt that his paintings reflect his concern for a changing world.

Hieronymus Bosch was born Jheronimus Van Aken in 1450 in the Dutch town of Hertogenbosch (Bois-Le-Duc) near the Belgian border. He grew up in a  family of artists - both father and grandfather were painters.

Hertogenbosch was a busy industrial town known for its high demand glass-making industry (the strange looking transparent balls and tubes are prevalent in his works). 

He married Aleyt Goyaerts van den Meervenne, the daughter of one of the wealthiest and powerful families of Hertogenbosch. Bosch's fortunate marriage afforded him a freedom to paint in his unconventional style. His wife was a member of the Brotherhood of Our Lady, a society meant for the rich and elite, and his father, Anthonius van Aken, acted as artistic adviser to the Brotherhood. He naturally became a member and accepted numerous commissions to paint altarpieces and to design chandeliers, stained glass windows and crucifixes. 
He achieved fame in his time. His followers were wealthy individuals, collectors and common folks alike. As he became more popular he often received assignments from abroad. 

It is said that as his success grew worldly he decided to change his name from Van Aken to Bosch to remind people where he came from.

Hieronymus Bosch, who was often imitated, rarely dated his paintings and only signed a few, making it very difficult to trace his artistic development. There have been many debates about the exact number of his surviving works. According to scholars fewer than 25 paintings remain today that can be attributed to him. 

The Garden Of Earthly Delights

He painted several triptychs; The Garden Of Earthly Delights is among the most famous ones.