Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch was one of the most famous during the Northern Renaissance. He has at least 20 works of art attributed to him, and he has managed to captivate audiences around the globe long after his passing.
Bosch would become known as a restlessly creative person, coming up with the imaginative works that were rich in allegory, fantastical elements, and religious symbolism all depicted in huge, bustling scenes that were massive for the time.
Art in His Blood
Without a doubt, there was art in the blood of Bosch when he was born (sometime between 1450 and 1456). His family was one of painters, with his grandfather Johannes Thomaszoon van Aken being one of the most prominent painters in the 15th century in s’-Hertogenbosch.
Johannes attempted to build a “painter dynasty” within his family, giving his children and grandchildren comfortable lives given the time. Though there is little known about the family, Hieronymus himself mentioned being a member of a workshop as early as 1475.
Early Religious Scenes
Some of his earliest works were of explicitly religious scenes. One of his first, Crucifixion with Saints and Donor, believed to be from somewhere between 1485 and 1490, is held in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and is believed to be among his earliest surviving pieces.
What makes the piece stand out so distinctly is that it favors dizzying, eccentric, and disconcerting compositions. Bosch would later project this style onto other religious objects over the course of his storied painting career.
Painting Saints
Where Bosch’s true iconic style began to surface is in painting saints. Two pieces, St. John the Baptists in Meditation and St. John on Patmos feature members of a religious fraternity that Bosch was a member of as well.
The latter in particular was an altarpiece that was made exclusively for the Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady, which was the aforementioned fraternity. It featured a wiry devil that had a small fire burning above its head and reptilian extremities. These are the types of features that would come to classify Bosch paintings of the era and really set him apart not only from those in the region but throughout the Renaissance.