In the past, the text most often linked to Bosch has been the Vision of Tondal, but again: no examples of indisputable borrowing here.īosch’s symbolical imagery often uses topical motifs, meaning: subjects and symbols that frequently occur elsewhere in the late Middle Ages. Literary sources that may have inspired Bosch are – apart from the Bible – devotional and religious texts, the works of early humanist authors and the poems and plays of the so-called rederijkers (rhetoricians). As far as iconographical sources are concerned, these affinities most frequently present themselves in the marginal decorations of manuscripts, in the wood and stone sculpture of churches, in prints and in the work of German artists. What late medieval literature and art do offer are numerous affinities with and similarities to what Bosch painted. Moreover, it is very difficult to catch Bosch in the act of literally borrowing an image or a textual passage: apparently, he was too much of a creative artist in order to simply copy what others had invented before him, his imagination always adapted things in accordance with his own needs. The religious, moralizing and satirical content of Bosch’s oeuvre is fairly to recognize but the symbolism he used to mould his message frequently causes problems of interpretation, due to the cultural-historical gap of 500 years that separates us from his art. “Texts and Images: The Sources for Bosch’s Art” (Eric De Bruyn) 2016
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