Hieronymus Bosch. The Complete Works

by Stefan Fischer

Hardcover, 2014

Status

Available

Call number

N6953.B66 F5713

Publication

TASCHEN (2014), 300 pages

Description

Only 20 paintings and eight drawings are confidently assigned to Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) but in their fantastical visions they have secured his place as one of the most cult artists in history. 500 years on from his death, his works continue to inspire scholars, artists, designers, and musicians, death metal band names and designer dresses. This Bibliotheca Universalis edition offers the complete and haunting Bosch world in one compact format. Through full spreads and carefully curated details, we explore the full reach and compelling inventions of the artist's genius as well as disturbing imagination. We encounter his hybrid creatures, his nightmarish scenarios, his religious and moral framework, and his pictorial versions of contemporary proverbs and idioms. Along the way, art historian and Bosch expert Stefan Fischer reveals the most important themes and influences in these cryptic, mesmerizing masterpieces.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member JulieStielstra
For serious, patient art history buffs. A detailed, comprehensive examination of the surprisingly small body of work produced by this 16th century Flemish painter - all the allusions tracked down and documented, symbols explained, dinner parties attended, books known, and lots and lots of delicious
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detail illustrations.

My trouble with this edition is the layout. It's very small in format (5 1/2 x 8 in.) and so correspondingly thick - nearly two inches. You cannot expect to reproduce a triptych with a central panel *alone* that measures 52 x 21 in. even across a double-page spread without sacrificing quality, so thank goodness for the detail pages! However, the arrangement of the illustrations is disorganized, and I found myself with fingers and bookmarks inserted in three or four places, flipping back and forth between text and pictures. It was a challenge, and one I confess I didn't sustain all the time. I wish I had the large-format edition; perhaps it's better in this regard.

An important resource with all the historical background on this unique, complex and delightful painter... or you can just savor the weird, bizarre, inventive and hilarious pictures.
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LibraryThing member IrysAle
Very good.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2013

Physical description

300 p.; 17.6 inches

ISBN

3836526298 / 9783836526296
Page: 1.1152 seconds