Koldeweij e.a. 2001
Hieronymus Bosch. New Insights Into His Life and Work (Jos Koldeweij, Bernard Vermet and Barbera van Kooij) 2001
[Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen-NAi Publishers-Ludion, Rotterdam, 2001, 216 pages]
This compilation with 19 scholarly contributions written by 23 authors was published on the occasion of the Bosch exhibition in Rotterdam (September-November 2001). In the introduction Jos Koldeweij and Bernard Vermet point out that the aim of the exhibition was to replace Bosch’s works in their historic context, namely in the artistic and cultural world of the Low Countries around 1500, and more precisely of ’s-Hertogenbosch. One of the ways to reach this aim was to exhibit a large number of late medieval artefacts that have come down to us. The exhibition underscores the fact that Bosch was not only a brilliant visionary but also a child of his time. In his publications about Bosch Dirk Bax has strongly emphasized the importance of the Dutch language for a better understanding of Bosch’s imagery. In the 2001 exhibition a great effort was made to present historical visual material from Bosch’s time and surroundings.
The 19 contributions in this compilation represent different views on Bosch and are all based on recent research. Although sometimes the interpretations contradict each other the editors hope that in this way a balanced multifaceted portrait of Bosch is presented. Although it is not easy to tell which of these views are closer to or further away from the ‘truth’, each of the contributions is meant to bring us a step closer to a bygone reality that we will never know first-hand.
For a further discussion of the 19 contributions, see: Van Dijck 2001b, Vink 2001b, Aikema 2001a, Rutgers 2001, Silva Maroto 2001, Vandenbroeck 2001b, Jacobs 2001, Laemers 2001, Vandenbroeck 2001c, Renson 2001, Elsig 2001, Van Schoute e.a. 2001, Klein 2001, De Bruyn 2001c, Vervoort 2001, Van Gangelen/Ostkamp 2001, Jansen e.a. 2001, Willemsen 2001 and Vellekoop 2001.
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