Hieronymus Bosch : The Complete Works by Taschen Books is a staggering and sumptuous collection of paintings by the Early Netherlandish master ( 1450 – 1516 ). Hieronymus’s allegorical creations on canvas are often an intriguing mix of surrealistic fantasy and grotesque, phantasmagoric visions.
Measuring 18 x 12.5 x 2 inches, this colossal volume is one of the biggest art books I’ve purchased, equal in dimensions ( except for thickness ) to another of Taschen’s books Gustav Klimt : The Complete Paintings and Phaidon’s The Art Museum.
The paintings are reproduced in superb quality, with high fidelity in the colors and almost jarring details in many of the magnified sections of the artist’s massive pieces.
What went on in the head of Hieronymus to conjure up such bizarre imagery one can only imagine. As an art student I took to his paintings very quickly because they were so markedly different from the work of other painters I was looking at.
(above) A giant centerfold for the painter’s most renowned work The Garden Of Earthly Delights, which can be found at the Museo Del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Another good reason ( besides Las Meninas ) to visit the museum in the near future.
(above) Towards the end of the book is a catalogue of the artist’s paintings, with additional notes and documentation on each piece. From here on the pages are printed on a different grade of paper, with a canvas-like, textured feel that is great to the touch and make the drawings ( images below ) look great.
(above) The book is housed in a beautiful and sturdy cardboard carry case and keeps the book in pristine condition during shipping.
Taschen has made an art book of exceptional quality, an all-round package with fantastic reproductions of Hieronymus paintings. I also like the thick and durable paper stock on which the book is printed on, which makes for very comfortable browsing and appreciation of the art pieces. This one gets my highest recommendations.
“Hieronymus Bosch : The Complete Works″ art book details :
– Dimensions – 18 x 12.5 x 2 inches (comes with cardboard carrying case)
– Hard cover, 306 pages
– Full color
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October 27th, 2014 at 10:40 pm
You can see some of Bosch influences in Rintaro from Madhouse earlier work. Magnificent combination.
October 28th, 2014 at 2:19 am
I’ve seen it said that the look Goro Miyazaki chose for his film adaptation of “Tales From Earthsea” in 2006 was based on the work of Claude Lorrain and Hieronymus Bosch, though I haven’t found any citable references for that…
October 28th, 2014 at 5:37 am
This is my favourite book of all time – it sets a new benchmark for art books … although I am saving for the Klimt one so this may not last! Buy this book and it will become an heirloom.
October 30th, 2014 at 11:39 pm
DISTRAKT – I was not aware of this, thanks for the heads up. 🙂
Eishagishi – It’s been a while since I last saw Earthsea, probably need some revision on that to check for references. 🙂
March – I bite the bullet and bought both books and can confirm they are both of amazing quality, it’s hard to decide which one I like more ! 😛