Goertz 1977
Hieronymus Bosch in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten dargestellt (Heinrich Goertz) 1977
[Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1977, 156 pages]
[Also mentioned in Gibson 1983: 6 (A27)]
Goertz aims at presenting a summary of the interpretations which have lately been published about Bosch. According to him one method of approach can never explain the complete oeuvre and each interpretation contributes to a better understanding of the painter. Goertz believes that on the one hand Bosch painted conservative works for the Church, and on the other esoteric works for a heretical sect of the Free Spirit. The author also pays a lot of attention to the theories of Wilhelm Fraenger: these are said to show ‘a high degree of probability’ and Goertz lavishly refers to them, especially when writing about the Garden of Delights. In a lot of other paintings, though, Bosch seems to be a moralizing pessimist and a Christian but critical observer of his times. In these cases Bosch painted what Thomas à Kempis wrote: that living on earth is a true misery.
[explicit]
