This week we focus on the National Gallery’s Christ Mocked (the Crowning with Thorns), one of the rare works by Bosch in a British collection. Many of the most powerful and emotive works of Northern European art describe the suffering and Passion of Christ, from private devotional images or woodcut prints, to more public works such as large-scale altarpieces and sculptural groups. In this dramatic painting Christ is represented as a passive victim tormented by four brutish and grotesque figures who press closely around him, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. Yet the work requires placement in the religious context of the turn of the century to be fully understood. Why are the figures dressed in contemporary costume? What is the significance of non-scriptural elements and objects, such as the dog collar or the oak leaves? How would the painting have been viewed and interpreted during the period? We will examine the work within the context of some of Bosch’s paintings in other collections.
Het hele werk
van Jeroen Bosch, dat ons zo fantasierijk en vaak duister en hels voorkomt,
is in feite doordrenkt van een stedelijke burgermoraal, die voor een groot
deel gebaseerd was op het humanisme uit het gebied van de Nederrijn en op de
ideeën van de 'Moderne Devotie'. De schilder
ook wel getypeerd als 'misschien de enige kunstenaar die het wereldbeeld van
de vroegmoderne stadsburgerij in al zijn facetten visualiseert'. Uit: Cultuurgeschiedenis van de middeleeuwen, Rob Meens e.a. (p.273) |
After the break we will go beyond what can be seen with the naked eye, thinking about the ways in which the technology available to the Gallery’s conservators and scientists can enhance our understanding of the collection. Guest lecturer Rachel Billinge, Research Associate in the National Gallery's Conservation Department, will discuss the technical investigation of Bosch’s Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns) and will demonstrate, with the aid of photomicrographs, X-ray images and infrared reflectograms, how analysis of the panel has revealed surprising information beneath the painted surface.
Hieronymus Bosch, Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns), c.1510. View of the painting in the National Gallery |
El Greco, The Disrobing of Christ 1577-9. Toledo Cathedral |
l: Dirk Bouts, Christ Crowned with Thorns, c.1470. National Gallery, London. r: Cima da Conegliano, Christ Crowned with Thorns, c.1470. National Gallery, London. |
l: Martin Schongauer , Christ Crowned with Thorns, c.1480. National Gallery of Art, Washington (engraving) r: Albrecht Dürer, Christ Crowned, 1500. Albertina, Vienna (woodcut) |
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l: Follower of Bosch, Christ Crowned with Thorns, c.1510-20? Philadelphia Museum of Art r: Follower of Bosch, Christ Crowned with Thorns with Donor, c.1520-30. Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp |
Bosch Mocking of Christ c1470 or later Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt Let op de tekstslinten die uit verschillende monden komen. |