Hieronymus Bosch

Bu ttner has written a handy, nearly ideal volume on the much-admired but little-understood Bosch. The author builds the historical context in which to view Bosch's work without drowning readers in superfluous detail. In addition, he offers guidance in understanding how Bosch thought visually without telling readers what to think or frustrating them to the point of throwing up their hands. . . . Bosch emerges as an early moral satirist rather than as a secretive, strange quasi heretic, which is to say as more normal and arguably more artistically important than he has previously been portrayed. . . . A nicely illustrated quarto that neatly finds that sweet spot between casual and serious students of art. . . . This book is an excellent start to the Renaissance Lives series. -- Choice The reader will appreciate Bu ttner's detailed analysis of Bosch's painting style and process (rarely discussed by other scholars), as well as his forensic approach to Bosch's highly problematic oeuvre. . . . As an exercise in methodology, Bu ttner's text is a relevant addition to any Bosch bibliography. While favoring primary sources, Bu ttner effectively models a multi-pronged approach, also applying provenance and connoisseurship, together with technical (infrared reflectographic and dendrochronological) findings. -- Comitatus This well-researched sketch is most welcome. . . . [Buttner's] insights are often original rather than conventional wisdom. . . . Its terse, clear prose provides the bare bones of Bosch biography, insofar as it is known, as well as documented early collecting of these works. . . . Buttner emphasizes the unique vision, not the family workshop, of this distinctive painter. He does not see Bosch as emerging out of Flemish precedents, but instead lays out how his unique imagery could capture the imagination of his contemporaries as well as his numerous (often anonymous) copyists and followers. -- Renaissance and Reformation Several excellent books have appeared in this centenary year to introduce Bosch and his work to the general public. Bu ttner's Hieronymus Bosch is an attractive little hardbound book with good color illustrations providing an inviting, judicious overview of Bosch in his historical environment. -- New York Review of Books The art historian Buttner offers a gateway to understanding Bosch's art in his brief but thoughtful biography Hieronymus Bosch: Visions and Nightmares. -- New Criterion