Registration is now open for the conference "Defining boundaries: Jheronimus Bosch, his workshop, and his followers".

Jheronimus Bosch remains an exceptionally popular painter and draughtsman. His death in 1516 was commemorated five years ago with major exhibitions in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and in Madrid, which together drew well over one million visitors, an astonishing success. The scholarly interest in the master from ‘s-Hertogenbosch typically focuses on the often-peculiar iconography of some of his works, which historians of art have tried to decipher since the late 19th century. Ever since, the literature on Bosch has grown exponentially. For the scholarly discourse of these paintings and drawings, whether focused on iconography, Bosch’s patrons, or his socioeconomic position in his hometown of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the precise definition of the boundaries of the oeuvre remains a critically important foundation.

The total number of works attributed to Bosch has changed significantly through time. As was the case for many other artists, in early scholarship this group of works was deemed considerably larger than it is now. The often translated and reprinted monographs on Bosch by Charles de Tolnay (1937), Ludwig von Baldass (1943), and Jacques Combe (1946) accepted many more works as “autograph Bosch” than we do today. The monograph by Roger Marijnissen (1987) was an important turning point in this regard, in that it generally took a more critical stand and called for systematic technical research to provide clearer boundaries between the works by Bosch, by his workshop, and by followers. In 2012, Fritz Koreny only accepted 10 paintings and 11 drawings as autograph. The Bosch Research and Conservation Project, in 2016, published the findings from its six-year study in a two-volume monograph. The BRCP considers 21 paintings and 20 drawings to be by Bosch. But, as this conference will show, the discussions about attributions have not ceased since, and the boundaries between the works by Bosch and by his workshop, or between works by the workshop and by his followers, are sometimes hard to draw. In 26 presentations, the speakers at this conference will share the most recent scholarly insights on many of these topics.

Defining boundaries: Jheronimus Bosch, his workshop, and his followers will be the fifth international conference organized by the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center (JBAC), after Jheronimus Bosch Revealed: The Painter and His World (2001); Jheronimus Bosch: His Sources (2007); Jheronimus Bosch: His Patrons and His Public (2012) and Jheronimus Bosch: His Life and His Work (2016). The conference is supported by the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, the City of ’s-Hertogenbosch, Huis van Bosch, and Radboud University Nijmegen. The members of the Conference Committee (Prof. Dr. Ron Spronk, chair, Prof. Dr. Jos Koldeweij, and Dr. Eric De Bruyn) received critical assistance from Drs. Willeke Cornelissen and Mr. J. Timmermans, Chair of the Board of the Jheronimus Bosch Foundation.

The proceedings of Defining boundaries: Jheronimus Bosch, his workshop, and his followers will be published by the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center. If you would like to be kept informed about the availability of this publication, please send an email to conferencejheronimusbosch-artcenter.nl.

Program

Thursday May 11, 2023

1:00 pm Registration, coffee

2:00 pm Opening of the Conference, Mr. J. Timmermans and Prof. Dr. R. Spronk

2:15 pm The Garden of Earthly Delights: Visual sign-posts and the ABC hypothesis, keynote lecture, Prof. Dr. M. Berdoy

3:30 pm Response to M. Berdoy's keynoteadress, Prof. Dr. em. R. Falkenburg

3:55 pm Break

4:10 pm Panel discussion with Prof. Dr. em. B. Aikema, Prof. Dr. M. Berdoy, Prof. Dr. em. R. Falkenburg, Dr. B. Fransen (chair), Dr. D. Van Heesch and Prof. Dr. em. J. Koldeweij

5:30 pm Reception, welcome by Drs. J. Mikkers, Mayor of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Markt 1 (at the Market Place, a 10-minute walk from the JBAC).

Throughout Visit to ‘House of Bosch’ (open to all participants, but requires a reservation).

Friday May 12, 2023 (in two parallel sessions)

9:00 am Registration, coffee

10:00 am Bosch’s working process, Prof. Dr. em. F. Koreny
Specialised employees of Jheronimus Bosch?, L. Scholten (MA), PhD candidate

10:35 am Connoisseurship and attribution: the Haywain, M. Lafontaine (MA)
Pieter Coecke as Intermediary: Inserting the link between Bosch and Bruegel, A. Hobill (MA), PhD candidate

11:20 am Family functions: a comparison of the Bosch-production to the organisation of other family workshops, Dr. D. Tamis
Bosch imitators in Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Dr. E. Vázquez

12:00 pm Lunch

1:05pm Dürer, De Beatis, and the Nassau palace, Prof. Dr. em. J. Koldeweij
Mandijn’s Monsters: Shining a light on the techniques and motifs of a Bosch follower, K.Harada (MAC) & Dr. A. Vandivere

1:40 pm More delights in Bosch’s Garden: Words, Patterns and Probabilities, Prof. Dr. M. Berdoy
In the Manner of Jheronimus Bosch or Jan Wellens de Cock? A Case Study of Christ in Limbo, Y. H. Hsu (MA), PhD candidate

2:10 pm Break

2:50 pm Weaving Bosch and Bruegel: Canon Formation in a Brussels Tapestry Series (c. 1560), keynote lecture, Dr. D. Van Heesch

3:40 pm Questions

4:00pm Closing

6:00pm Conference dinner

Throughout Visit to ‘House of Bosch’ (open to all participants, but requires a reservation).

Saturday May 13, 2023 (in two parallel sessions)

9:00 am Registration, coffee

10:00 am Jheronimus Bosch and the Renaissance in Europe, keynote lecture, Prof. Dr. em. B. Aikema

10:50 am Questions

11:10 am Facing the end of time, F. Nies (MA), PhD candidate
Listening to the angels… or why was the Last Judgment from the Wawel Royal Castle in Cracow not painted by Jheronimus Bosch?, Dr. G. Kubies

11:45 am Bosch's earthly paradises: the left panels of the Garden of Earthly Delights, The Vienna Last Judgement and The Haywain Triptych, J. van Benthum (MA)
Filling the void. Copies of Bosch’s Ecce Homo, Dr. M. van Wamel

12:20 pm Earthly Paradise as the final phase of Purgatory in Boschian Last Judgment triptychs, Dr. E. De Bruyn
Bosch’s ‘Conjurer’: Autograph, Workshop or Follower? Can the Unrecognized Subject Determine Authorship?, D. Keeran Withee (MA), PhD candidate

12:50 pm Lunch

1:55 pm The Vienna ‘Last Judgment’ triptych revisited: the underdrawings, Prof. Dr. R. Spronk
A rock-man in Dresden, a relative of the tree-man–once Bosch and away?, Dr. M. Michael

2:30 pm The Vienna 'Last Judgment' triptych revisited: the paint layers, L. Hoogstede (MA), PhD candidate
The Allegory of Human Life by Giorgio Ghisi and its pictorial copies. A revival of a 'Bosch-style' motif in the second half of the 16th century, Prof. Dr. C. Salsi

3:05 pm MA-XRF imaging on The Last Judgment triptych in Vienna, Prof. Dr. G. Van der Snickt
Bosch’s Epiphany: The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist, Prof. Dr. H. van der Velden

3:40 pm Closing remarks, Prof. Dr. R. Spronk

4:00 pm Farewell drinks

5:00pm Closing

Throughout Visit to ‘House of Bosch’ (open to all participants, but requires a reservation).

More information:
https://jheronimusbosch-artcenter.nl/en/conferentie/
conferencejheronimusbosch-artcenter.nl