El Bosco

<p>As cryptic as they are compelling, the masterpieces of <strong>Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516)</strong> remain some of the most enduring enigmas of the art world. Their <strong>intricate, allegorical, and often startling content </strong>has captivated not only art historians, but also <strong>fashion designers, rock stars, writers, and punk rockers</strong>, as well as countless modern and contemporary artist successors.<br /><br /> Although rooted in the Old Netherlandish tradition, Bosch developed a <strong>highly subjective, richly suggestive style</strong> to render both the celestial bliss of heaven and the grotesque tortures of hell, most famously and meticulously excecuted in <em>The Garden of Earthly Delights</em>. Here, as in his other known works, his artistic language combined <strong>religious humility with a razor-sharp wit</strong>, often playing off pictorial versions of contemporary proverbs or figures of speech.<br /><br /> This book ties together the elusive threads of Bosch’s oeuvre to provide a concise introduction to an at once <strong>haunting and</strong> <strong>enthralling pictorial world</strong>.</p>