As cryptic as they are compelling, the masterpieces of
Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516)
remain some of the most enduring enigmas of the art world. Their
intricate, allegorical, and often startling content
has captivated not only art historians, but also
fashion designers, rock stars, writers, and punk rockers
, as well as countless modern and contemporary artist successors.
Although rooted in the Old Netherlandish tradition, Bosch developed a
highly subjective, richly suggestive style
to render both the celestial bliss of heaven and the grotesque tortures of hell, most famously and meticulously excecuted in
The Garden of Earthly Delights
. Here, as in his other known works, his artistic language combined
religious humility with a razor—sharp wit
, often playing off pictorial versions of contemporary proverbs or figures of speech.
This book ties together the elusive threads of Bosch’s oeuvre to provide a concise introduction to an at once
haunting and
enthralling pictorial world
.