SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
The devil in the detail
ANDY HEDGECOCK uses a magnifying glass to unpick the uncannily prophetic enigma of the high-status medieval Dutch visionary Hieronymus Bosch
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
Hieronymus Bosch – Visions and Nightmares
Nils Buttner, Reaktion Books, £14.95
ACCORDING to psychologists at the University of Vienna, our appreciation of visual art is enhanced if work is open to multiple interpretations. When it comes to the painted image, we love an enigma.
In this accessible introduction to the work of Hieronymus Bosch, Nils Buttner acknowledges that inscrutability is a factor in the Dutch painter’s enduring appeal. Buttner’s relish for the mysterious and multi-layered aspects of Bosch are, however, tempered with analytical enquiry.
From the outset, he notes the impact of scientific enquiry on perceptions of the artist. In 1937, forty-one paintings were attributed to Bosch; by 2013, dendrochronology and stylistic analysis had reduced the list to twenty. Within this redefined oeuvre, traditional Christian iconography is represented far more frequently than the "darkly fantastic" scenes for which he is best known.
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