Biography

Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) was a Dutch painter known for his highly detailed religious paintings filled with disturbingly imagined demons. His dark subject matter symbolically reflected the church's mood and prevailing philosophy at that time.

Bosch was born Jeroen Aken in the Dutch town of s'Hertogenbosch, where he would remain for most of his life. He followed in the family tradition of professional painting established by his father and grandfather, among other relatives. During his own career, though, he set himself apart and adopted a new surname, derived from the last syllable of his town's name.

Around 1481, he married an older aristocrat named Aleid van de Meervenne and lived on an estate which was included in her dowry. Her wealth was enough to supply his material needs, so he could have had freedom to paint only for himself. But other than Philip the Fair, Prince of the Netherlands, anyone else who commissioned his services is unknown.

He led a simple life in a rural setting, removed from the metropolitan centres of art, so not much else has been recorded about him. We don't even know the exact years of any of the thirty paintings which have been identified as his work.