Recently, we took advantage of living in The Netherlands, and visited the Jheronimus Boch Art Center in ‘s Hertogenbosch. It’s housed in a church which was built in 1907. When the building was no longer being used used as a church, the art center opened there in 2007. It’s a beautiful space for this purpose.
Jheronimus Bosch lived and painted in this town from about 1450 to his death in 1516. His works were unique in their time; no one had ever depicted humanity the way he did. Nearly six hundred years later, he has had thousands of enthusiastic admirers and imitators, but Bosch remains one of a kind.
Apparently, none of his paintings remain in The Netherlands. What we saw in the Art Center were full-sized (wall-size, some of them) reproductions of many of his works, faithfully copied right down to the frames. There’s also contemporary art – painting, sculpture, and digital – inspired by Bosch on display. We walked through an exhibit showing what his studio may have been like. The artwork, and the beautiful building, were delights.
Many of the paintings are fractal. Busy. Deceptive. The viewer is pulled in to the details of tiny scenes, then has to step back to grasp the whole flow of the story Bosch is telling. I didn’t feel I could take it all in – so much is happening in these worlds that Bosch created. I definitely want to see the exhibit again.
We came away energized and inspired. We want to try to make a 3D version of something from one of those paintings. A plant, creature, demon, or angel – so many possibilities! I’m envisioning armatures, paper machè, paper clay, cardboard… hmmm. Lots of ideas.
We’re each going to choose our subject, build it by June 1, and “show our work” on June 2. You will see our creations here.
It’s going to be an exciting project! Would anyone else like to join in? Please feel free!
