Bossche painter Jheronimus Bosch

This garden is named after Jheronimus Bosch and it seems to me a nice place to tell you something about this special painter.

To respect the peace in the garden, I kindly ask you to listen here before entering the garden.

Jheronimus Bosch was born around 1450 in Den Bosch under his real name Jheronimus van Aken. Growing up in a family of four siblings, he learned the painting profession from his father who in turn learned it from his father and grandfather. The family originally came from Aachen, hence the surname and via Nijmegen they came to live in Den Bosch, where they took up a studio near the Vughterpoort. Jheronimus grew up in the house on the market, which his father bought in 1462 and which was called ‘In Sint Thoenis’. Jheronimus himself was addressed as Joen.

Furthermore, not much is known about the youth of Jheronimus. What is certain is that the city fire of 1463 probably made a great impression on him, because many city fires are depicted in later works.

Jheronimus Bosch is only mentioned in an official document for the first time in 1474. He then borrows a large amount of money together with his father. It is not stated in those documents what that money is used for. In 1481 he was first mentioned as ‘Jeroen die Maelre’ Jeroen the painter. This is two years after the death of his father, during which he uses his inheritance to start his own studio and to get married. He married Aleid van de Meervenne, a woman who grew up in an influential merchant family. This makes Jheronimus a man who can afford the furnishing of a studio and is not even dependent on the income from his work. However, his paintings are in great demand and thus he ends up in the richer circles of the city. However, the childless couple does not leave much behind when they die, so Bosch never actually became mega rich.

From around 1490 Joen signed his work for the first time with ‘Jheronimus Bosch’. His work already has a special style, which differs from other Dutch artists. In contrast to his colleagues, Bosch paints many specters with demons from hell, in which the evil of man comes to the fore. Until then, only heavenly visions were made. It is therefore assumed that the altarpieces painted by Bosch were never used as such. One of Bosch’s best-known works is the Garden of Earthly Delights, which can be seen in the Prado in Madrid. An enormous triptych that belongs to the Northern Renaissance style period.

Since he was already popular during his lifetime, many of his works were forged. His works were soon restored and updated, making it difficult to determine what was actually painted by Bosch himself and what was not. Art historians also noted differences in quality within one and the same work and therefore assume that several people worked on a piece at the same time. The paintings were also not dated. It is unfortunate to mention that many of his works have also been lost. After his death in 1516, his relatives were able to make good money with many imitations of his work.

If you like, you can take a quiet walk through the garden but let me show you where to go next. The road here does a horse-shoe turn around to the left, to the other exit. Follow it around to walk in the direction of St. John’s.