Hieronymus Bosch & the Other Renaissance

A marvellous art book that reveals the unknown face of the Renaissance and the craze for monsters

Hieronymus Bosch & the Other Renaissance explores the renowned artist Hieronymous Bosch, famed worldwide as a painter of monstrous creatures and fantastical scenes reminiscent of dreamlike visions. Bosch's fame did not originate in the Netherlands, his birthplace, but rather in sixteenth-century southern Europe. This region was artistically dominated by themes and styles typical of Renaissance classicism, distinct from those of the Flemish painter.

This book not only presents Bosch but also aims to illustrate the success of his art in the high societies of Italy, Spain, and the Americas between the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It particularly references the collecting trends in these two countries, where Bosch's works, as well as those of his followers, were highly sought after by entities like the Spanish Habsburgs and the Grimani in Venice. These works inspired a vast number of painters, draftsmen, engravers, and other notable artists, including Bosch's successor, the much-renowned Bruegel the Elder.

The book sheds new and surprising light on a particular “Renaissance” that has often remained in the shadows compared to the classicism of Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino. Despite this, it had a significant artistic and cultural impact across various parts of Europe, often expressed in grotesque or “anticlassical” forms. Examples include the cycle of tapestries by Bosch at the Escorial, paintings by masters such as Titian and El Greco, works of engravers like Giorgio Ghisi, and sculptors and decorators such as Bernardo Buontalenti, culminating in the culture of the Wunderkammer.