Monday 4 December 2023

Hieronymus Bosch - part 1

Portrait of Hieronymus Bosch by David Kandel,
 German School
© RMN-Grand Palais (Louvre Museum) - Thierry Le Mage

Hieronymus Bosch was born in the town of 's Hertogenbosch near Antwerp, from which he took his name. He was the son of a painter. He is famous for the fantastic and disturbing detail of his panel pictures. In his mature works Bosch developed an original and often macabre language of visual symbolism, sometimes a literal translation of verbal metaphors found in the Bible.

Bosch appears to have spent the majority of his life in 's-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), although his family probably came from Aachen in Germany. His chronology is uncertain, but the Gallery's ‘Christ Mocked’ is probably an early work, one of many representing episodes of the Passion of Christ. Bosch's most famous work is perhaps 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' at the Prado, Madrid. In the 17th century Van Mander wrote

'Who will be able to tell of all the weird and strange ideas which were in the mind of Jeronimus Bos, and his expressions of them by his brush? He painted gruesome Pictures.’ Bosch's work particularly influenced Bruegel in the 16th century. His paintings were collected by Philip II of Spain, and in the 20th century were cited by the Surrealists as precursors of their own visions.


This is part 1 of a 3-part series on the works of Hieronymus Bosch:


before 1467 Instruments of the Passion of Christ
by workshop of Bosch
oil on wood panel 15.6 x 68.2 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Instruments of the Passion of Christ
detail

1467 Instruments of the Passion of Christ
detail

1475-80 The Extraction of the Stone of Madness
oil on wood panel 48 x 35 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

c1475 The Adoration of the Magi 

This tranquil scene, with its tunnelling perspective and sensitively rendered faces, is characteristic of Bosch’s works before he made his more famous scenes of hell. The stage-like setting, with a curtain held aloft by angels, may indicate the influence of religious plays performed in Bosch’s hometown of 's Hertogenbosch. By the late fifteenth century, the three Magi were clearly differentiated to represent their varied regional origins. The Black king is prominently featured and elaborately attired, with a crowned, feathered fez and gold collar and belt with hanging Turkish curved sword and jewelled hand shield.


c1475 The Adoration of the Magi
oil and gold on oak panel 71.1 x 56.5 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1482-86 Visions of the Hereafter
oil on wood panels
Gallerie Accademia, Venice
(see details below)

1482-86 Visions of the Hereafter
detail

1482-86 Visions of the Hereafter
detail

1482-86 Visions of the Hereafter
detail

1482-86 Visions of the Hereafter
detail


c1485-90 Death and the Miser
oil on panel 93 x 31 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

n.d. Death and the Miser
© Louvre Museum, dist. RMN-Grand Palais

c1489 Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
oil on panel 48 x 40 cm
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

1490-95 Saint Jerome in Prayer
oil on wood panel 80 x 60.7 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium

1490-95 Saint Jerome in Prayer 
detail

1490-95 Saint Jerome in Prayer 
detail

1490-1500 Saint Cristopher carrying the Christ Child
oil on panel 112.7 x 71.8 cm
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

1490-1500 The Ship of Fools
oil on panel 58.1 x 32.8 cm
Museo Nacional del Prado, Milan

1490-1500 The Ship of Fools
© Louvre Museum, dist. RMN-Grand Palais


1490-1510 The Garden of Earthly Delights:

The Garden of Earthly Delights
Museo del Prado, Madrid
exterior panels

The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych
 oil on oak panels, 205.5 cm × 384.9 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Garden of Eden

Ecclesia's Paradise

Ecclesia's Paradise
detail

Ecclesia's Paradise
detail

Ecclesia's Paradise
detail

Ecclesia's Paradise
detail

Ecclesia's Paradise
detail

Ecclesia's Paradise
detail

Hell

Hell
detail

Hell
detail

Hell
detail

Hell
detail

1493 Hermit Saints triptych
oil on oak panels
Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice 
St. Anthony (left) 85.4 x 29.2 cm
St. Jerome (middle) 85.7 x 60 cm
St. Giles (right) 85.7 x 28.9 cm

1493 Hermit Saints
left panel

1493 Hermit Saints 
middle panel



1493 Hermit Saints 
right panel

c1495-1500 An Allegory of Intemperance
oil on wood panel 34.9 x 31.4 cm
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

c1495-1500 An Allegory of Intemperance
detail

c1495-1500 An Allegory of Intemperance
detail

c1495 The Adoration of the Magi
triptych
oil on panel 138 x 38cm
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

c1495 The Adoration of the Magi
detail

c1495 The Adoration of the Magi
detail

c1495 The Adoration of the Magi
detail

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Edward McKnight Kauffer - part 6

 Hailed in his lifetime as “the poster king,” E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954) believed that the street was an art gallery for the people. While living in England between 1914 and 1940, Kauffer produced radical posters for advertising that introduced modernism to the public. He experimented in provocative ways with line, form, space, and colour to promote services and products. He did not limit himself to posters, and designed a remarkable range of book covers, rugs, theatrical productions, and more, continuing his work in New York from 1940 until his death.

For more biographical notes see part 1, and for earlier works, see parts 1 - 5 also.

This is part 6 of a 6-part series on the works of E. McKnight Kauffer:

1935 Findlater Book of Wines (cover design)
issued by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co.
gouache
V&A Museum, London

1935 Findlater Book of Wines (cover design)
issued by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co.
gouache
V&A Museum, London

1935 Findlater Book of Wines (cover design)
issued by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co.
gouache
V&A Museum, London

1935 Stop On India Nonskid Tyres And Feel The Difference
colour lithograph poster 74.6 x 49.8 cm

1935 The New Gas Fires Says Mr Therm
Light Themselves
colour lithograph poster 76.1 x 50.7 cm

1935 Train Yourself to Better Work
colour lithograph poster 101.6 x 63.5 cm
London Transport Museum


1935 Tapestries to hang on the panelling of a dining room of a house in Sloane Square:

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London


c1935 ABC lettering design on a black ground
V&A Museum, London

c1935 Design for a geometric figure
gouache on paper 26.1 x 21.4 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1935 Gents directional Gents Loo sign used during an exhibition at Percy Lund Humphries, London
 V&A Museum, London

1936 Double Shell Lubricating Oil
 colour lithograph poster 115 x 76 cm

1936 Landscape
oil on board 32.7 x 40.6 cm
V&A Museum, London

1936 Landscape with a Barn
oil on board 32.7 x 40.8 cm
V&A Museum, London

1936 London's New Entertainment Centre
design for photo-murals advertising Earl's Court
mixed media, collage, paint 11.4 x 45.8 cm
V&A Museum, London

1936 London's New Entertainment Centre
design for photo-murals advertising Earl's Court
mixed media, collage, paint 30.5 x 54.5 cm
V&A Museum London

1936 London's New Entertainment Centre
design for photo-murals advertising Earl's Court
mixed media, collage, paint 30.5 x 54.5 cm
V&A Museum London

1936 The Tower of London
London Transport poster

1936 To Visit Britain's Landmarks You Can be Sure of Shell
Dinton Castle Near Aylesbury
colour lithograph poster 72.1 x 99.1 cm

1936 Westminster Abbey - London Transport
two-colour lithograph poster 50.8 x 31.8 cm
London Transport Museum

1936 Westminster From The Thames
London Transport poster

1937 Composition of Leaf and Tree
collage of stained sycamore veneers, drawing and a photographic print 24.8 x 30.5 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1937 News Chronicle Schools Exhibition
colour offset lithograph poster 71.4 x 47.9 cm

1937 South And East African Air Mail
Make Every Day Posting Day
colour offset lithograph poster 37.6 x 25.5 cm

1937 Study Success At The Advertising Exhibition, Olympia
colour lithograph poster 76 x 60.6 cm

c1937 Untitled design:
A laminated wood collage of a tree trunk
V&A Museum, London

1938 Autumn Woods
colour lithograph poster for London Transport
101.3 x 63.4 cm

1938 Still Life: Anemones and Gauloise Cigarettes
oil on board 21.6 x 26.8 cm
V&A Museum, London

1939 Summer Shell - May to October
colour lithograph poster 76.2 x 114.3 cm

1940 Lend to Defend the Right to be Free
design for a National Savings poster executed during WW2
gouache original 54.3 x 38.4 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1941 Luchamos Por La Libertad De Todos
colour lithograph poster for the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs

1942 Greece Fights On
poster colour lithography and offset printing 79 x 58.2 cm

1942 The Greatest Show on Earth (New York)
colour lithograph poster 77 x 108.8 cm 

1943 Civil Aeronautics Administration - Speeds The War
colour lithograph poster 101.3 x 71.8 cm
MoMA, New York

1945 The Clio by L.H. Myers
book cover design

1947 Shop between 10 and 4 Avoid The Rush Hour
colour lithograph poster 102.9 x 62.9 cm
London Transport Museum

1950 American Airlines To Chicago
colour process engraving 101.6 x 76.2 cm

n.d. L'Heure
mixed media, paint and collage
V&A Museum, London

n.d. The Play's the Thing
Ex Libris book plate artwork
gouache 16.2 x 8.9 cm