Beyond Bosch The Afterlife of a Renaissance Master in Print
This exhibition occurred in the past. The archival exhibition summary below describes the exhibition as it was conceived while on view. The Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450鈭�1516) captured the imaginations of his Renaissance patrons with paintings of hellfire and hybrid monsters, and his reputation has only grown since. In the wake of his death, Bosch became nothing short of a highly desirable brand, a bestseller among sixteenth-century artists. This exhibition explores arguably the most powerful engine that fomented the artist鈥檚 afterlife: his transmission through the growing and highly sophisticated market for European prints.
Printmaking flourished in Bosch鈥檚 lifetime, but only a small handful of engravings by his contemporary Alart du Hameel have any potential connection with Bosch himself. The Boschian print phenomenon truly exploded after the artist鈥檚 death in the mid-16th century under the aegis of the pioneering Antwerp print publisher Hieronymus Cock, and maintained force into the 17th century. These later prints are not literal reproductions of known works by the artist. Rather, they are images inspired by Bosch鈥檚 unique legacy of artistic invention. A key figure in this phenomenon was the great Antwerp artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who figured himself as 鈥渁 second Bosch鈥� when he launched his own career in print at Hieronymus Cock鈥檚 publishing house.
This exhibition of Boschian prints draws almost exclusively from a private collection, with a handful of strategic loans, in order to tell the story of Bosch鈥檚 afterlife in print for the first time. It will demonstrate the many ways prints could popularize an artist like Bosch, transforming his name into an international brand associated with everything from monstrous drolleries to moral dramas, and serving as a launching ground for many artists after him.
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This exhibition occurred in the past. The archival exhibition summary below describes the exhibition as it was conceived while on view. The Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450鈭�1516) captured the imaginations of his Renaissance patrons with paintings of hellfire and hybrid monsters, and his reputation has only grown since. In the wake of his death, Bosch became nothing short of a highly desirable brand, a bestseller among sixteenth-century artists. This exhibition explores arguably the most powerful engine that fomented the artist鈥檚 afterlife: his transmission through the growing and highly sophisticated market for European prints.
Printmaking flourished in Bosch鈥檚 lifetime, but only a small handful of engravings by his contemporary Alart du Hameel have any potential connection with Bosch himself. The Boschian print phenomenon truly exploded after the artist鈥檚 death in the mid-16th century under the aegis of the pioneering Antwerp print publisher Hieronymus Cock, and maintained force into the 17th century. These later prints are not literal reproductions of known works by the artist. Rather, they are images inspired by Bosch鈥檚 unique legacy of artistic invention. A key figure in this phenomenon was the great Antwerp artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who figured himself as 鈥渁 second Bosch鈥� when he launched his own career in print at Hieronymus Cock鈥檚 publishing house.
This exhibition of Boschian prints draws almost exclusively from a private collection, with a handful of strategic loans, in order to tell the story of Bosch鈥檚 afterlife in print for the first time. It will demonstrate the many ways prints could popularize an artist like Bosch, transforming his name into an international brand associated with everything from monstrous drolleries to moral dramas, and serving as a launching ground for many artists after him.
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