Hieronymus Bosch by Steph Matthiesen

Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch artist who lived from 1450 to 1516. Because of the time period in which he lived, little is known about his personal life. He was, however, born in the Dutch city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and he lived and worked there for most of his life.

I was first introduced to his work by my father. Something in a project I was working on reminded him of a part of Bosch's most famous work, The Garden of Earthly Delights. He had seen Bosch's work at the Prado when he had studied in Spain. I had never heard of him or his work, and so a Google search ensued.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

I found Bosch's paintings remarkable. The dark, surreal way in which he portrayed his subject matter very much caught my attention. His paintings are so wonderfully filled with the kinds of small details that are capable of keeping you staring at a single painting for hours on end.

Details from The Garden of Earthly Delights

His work is all the more remarkable when considering the historical context behind it. Some of his surreal imagery seems very futuristic in nature, and his style is reminiscent of Dali. Yet Bosch was producing his work nearly 450 years before Dali was even born, and Bosch's surrealist style is hardly typical of Renaissance art. His incorporation of symbolism into art is also fascinating to regard.