Hieronymous Bosch

1450 - 1516
Dutch

Biography

Bosch's name derives from the Dutch town where he was probably born. s'Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc). It was there that he spent most of his life and where he died. The painter was also known as Hieronymous van Aken (Aachen), after the city from which his family no doubt originated. His father was a painter, as was his grandfather, and he was born around 1450. If we add that he created his work in a provincial milieu, that starting in 1486 or 1487 he was recorded as a member of the Brotherhood of Notre Dame, and that he died in 1516, we shall have summed up what we know of his life.

For whom did Bosch paint his strange, haunted pictures? The few historical documents that mention his name do not throw much light on the subject. They do tell us that in 1504 the painting "The Last Judgement" was commissioned by Philip the Fair, prince of the Netherlands, thus giving us an idea of his reputation. Did Bosch also paint for himself? He could well of done so, for his marriage (around 1480) to Aleid van de Meervenne, a wealthy aristocrat, freed him from material needs so that he did not have to accept commissions. However, it may be, the originality of his art presupposes considerable freedom.

Many commentators have advanced mystical and fantastic theories about the meanings of his paintings, but Bosch, like all men, was a product of his own time. Around him he saw nothing but a world of sin, vice, madness, and depravity. Bosch's concern was to sound the alarm, to bring man back to the path of truth he had lost. Bosch's purpose was not to amuse the viewer but to warn him, to save him.

Return to Painting Table of Contents