Hieronymus Bosch, better known as Jeroen Bosch, was a master of the imagination. At a time when the Middle Ages were giving way to the Renaissance and the focus was increasingly shifting to humanity, he created a world full of bizarre creatures, monsters and mythical beasts.
In Remastered, we draw inspiration from, among other things, two of his most iconic works: The Garden of Earthly Delights (1480–1490) and the triptych The Last Judgement (c. 1482). Both paintings are populated by strange, comical figures known as ‘head-footed creatures’. These beings, with human or animal heads and feet, play a special role in Hieronymus Bosch’s universe. They embody the darker aspects of humanity, such as transience, lust and greed.
Jeroen Bosch drew his inspiration from medieval miniatures and books he encountered amongst the upper echelons of society in his day. He studied animals, plants and unusual human figures in great detail in order to bring them to life in his paintings.
The turbulent times in which Hieronymus Bosch lived – marked by wars between Brabant and Gelderland and the great fire of ’s-Hertogenbosch – left a deep impression on him, which he incorporated into his work. This is clearly evident in The Last Judgement, where warlike monsters and destruction take centre stage.
The paintings we use can be viewed at the following locations, amongst others:
Jeroen Bosch, The Last Judgement, c. 1482 or later, oil on oak panel, 163 x 127.5 cm (central panel), c. 167 x 60 cm (side panels), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria. khm.at
Jeroen Bosch, The Last Judgement, c. 1486 or later, oil on oak panel, 99.5 x 117.5 cm, Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Belgium. museabrugge.be
Hieronymus Bosch, *The Garden of Earthly Delights*, 1480–1490, oil on panel, 220 × 389 cm, Prado, Madrid, Spain. museodelprado.es
Jeroen Bosch, The Temptation of Saint Anthony, c. 1501 or later, oil on panel, 131 x 238 cm, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, Portugal. museudearteantiga.pt
Other works by Hieronymus Bosch can be viewed at:
Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum – Rotterdam, Netherlands boijmans.nl
Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium – Brussels, Belgium fine-arts-museum.be
Noordbrabants Museum – ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl
Museum of Fine Arts – Valencia, Spain museobellasartesvalencia.gva.es
National Gallery of Art – Washington, D.C., United States nga.gov
Gallerie dell’Accademia – Venice, Italy gallerieaccademia.it
Louvre Museum – Paris, France louvre.fr
Alte Pinakothek – Munich, Germany pinakothek.de
Royal Palace – Madrid, Spain patrimonionacional.es
Doge’s Palace – Venice, Italy palazzoducale.visitmuve.it
National Gallery – London, United Kingdom nationalgallery.org
Art Institute of Chicago – Chicago, United States artic.edu
Further information about Hieronymus Bosch can be found at: wikipedia.org
You can find a detailed interactive map of *The Garden of Earthly Delights* on this NTR webpage: