Author Description

""The paintings of Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) capture the imagination like those of no other artist in history. His fantastical scenes of grotesque creatures, devils, and monsters have prompted a wide range of interpretation, keeping his art endlessly fascinating over the centuries. Art lovers and historians have speculated about the artist himself, too, in particular about his religious -- and perhaps occult -- beliefs. This luxurious volume, published to coincide with a major exhibition in Bosch's native Netherlands, examines his art in the context of his times. Reproducing every Bosch painting and drawing in superb full color, and including Bosch's triptychs (many shown both open and closed), this book finally penetrates the mystery that has always surrounded the artist. Jos Koldeweij sketches a lively picture of urban culture in the late-medieval city of 's-Hertogenbosch, where the artist lived his entire life. Paul Vandenbroeck explores Bosch's social attitudes: the painter offered an unprecedented critique of society -- money and property, sin and pleasure -- from the perspective of the wealthy upper-middle class to which he himself belonged, and in so doing drew on the same themes and imagery found in the popular literature of the period. Bernard Vermet draws on the latest research to offer a new chronology for Bosch's work. Together, these scholars and Bosch's brilliant art itself demonstrate that Bosch was not only a highly inventive and technically brilliant painter, but that his beliefs and imagery were in keeping with many of the prevailing attitudes of his day. Hieronymus Bosch: The Complete Paintings and Drawings is essential for anyone interested in the most fully rounded picture ever offered of the life and work of one of the world's most enigmatic artists." -- Provided by publisher