The program of the upcoming research conference Jheronimus Bosch: His Patrons and his Public (‘s-Hertogenbosch, 16-18 September 2012) has been announced on the conference’s web site: www.jheronimusbosch-conference.com.
Information from the organizers
Among the keynote speakers are Prof.Dr. Reindert Falkenburg who recently published The land of unlikeness: Hieronymus Bosch, the garden of earthly delights and CODART-member Fritz Koreny, who published Hieronymus Bosch: die Zeichnungen: Werkstat und Nachfolge bis zum Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts: catalogue raisonné this year.
Furthermore J. Caetano and J. A. Seabra Carvalho will present important new information around the commission of the St. Anthony triptych in Lisbon. Lastly, the conference will give an opportunity to learn about the working method and the first results of the Bosch Research and Conservation Project.
Background
The work of Jheronimus Bosch (ca. 1450 – 1516) continues to generate much scholarly attention, yet very little is known about this master and his workshop. The iconography of several paintings remains highly enigmatic. Many questions with regard to the body and the chronology of the attributed oeuvre also remain unanswered, since significant variations in painting technique can be observed within this relatively small group of panels. Dated works have not survived, and not a single work can be connected to the painter with full certainty through a documented commission.
One of the most enigmatic but relatively little studied aspects of Bosch’s artistic output is that of his patronage. New information about the patrons of Bosch is of extraordinary importance, since such data will allow for a much better understanding of the original function of these paintings. For example: who commissioned the Garden of Earthly Delights? Who ordered the Last Judgment, now in the Akademie in Vienna? Were these revered works painted on commission, or perhaps produced for the open art market? Why, and by whom, were the figures of donors painted over in at least four paintings? 27 Speakers from 12 countries will shed their light on questions such as these, and others. Keynote speakers are Prof. dr. Reindert Falkenburg (New York University Abu Dhabi), Prof. em. dr. Fritz Koreny (Vienna University), and Dr. Eric de Bruyn.
