Visions of a genius is the title of the exhibition dedicated to Bosch to be held from 13 February to 8 May 2016 in the town of s-Hertogenbosch, also called Den Bosch, where Hieronymus Bosch painted his masterpieces.
The painter was born on October 2 between 1450 and 3 1455, son of the painter Jan Van Aken. From adolescence he dedicated himself to painting and soon acquired the mastery of a true artist. He was soon among the brothers of Our Beloved Lady and in 1488 he was registered among the notables of the brotherhood and remained there until his death in 1516. His is a painting that has been the study of many scholars, its composition rich in subjects made us think of a relationship between clandestine heresy (nudity and free love) as an expression of a rebirth before original sin. Other studies identify it closer to sciences such as alchemy or pharmaceuticals. Surely his art for the period to which it belongs could have had a meaning much more inclined to the liberation of the human being towards the sublime. Just think of the work Extraction of the stone of madness now in the Prado Museum. A painting where a group of people is depicted, three men and a woman, with a landscape in the background and an inscription that frames the scene: "Meester snyt die Keye ras / Myne name is lubbert das“, that is “Master takes out the stones, my name is 'castrated dachshund'” that is, a person who lets himself be deceived. The scene features a seated person having himself removed by an apparent surgeon wearing a funnel (symbol of stupidity) from his head "the alleged madness". While next door a sort of monk with an ampoule tries to explain ignorance to the deaf and indulging a woman with a book on her head (closed) that he observes without any interest. A painting populated by demons and saints in a dreamlike composition, certainly influenced by the rather dark historical period.
There are many masterpieces that return to Holland for this exhibition: The Death of a Miser (National Gallery of Art in Washington), The Ship of Fools (Louvre in Paris), the Triptych of the Hermits (Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice), the John the Baptist (Lazaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid), but also 19 drawings, of which it is worth mentioning “Infernal Landscape” purchased from a private collector in 2003 at Sotheby's for $227.000.
"La nave dei folli", a painting on wood from 1494, certainly makes one think, and proposes a crowd of characters huddled together on a small boat, you mean vices. We find symbols such as the owl at the top of the tree, cherries on the table, a Muslim crescent on the banner attached to the tree where a chicken hangs. Once again the exaltation to madness, to vice, perhaps due to intrinsic human thought? Descriptive metaphor of our times?
At yours are also exhibited seven panels by pupils of Bosch, complementary evidence of the Dutch medieval historical context.
