Hieronymus Bosch and modern weird artists.
For next Monday, I have a ticket for the big Hieronymus Bosch exhibition at the Prado Museum in Madrid. I am very curious to see! Bosch is the pre-eminent painter of the most wondrous creatures and unusual scenes. Probably contemporaries considered him a weird artist. Museums and cities organize countless events and exhibitions to celebrate the five hundredth year of the Dutch painter’s death. Bosch is named after the city Den Bosch. Here he was born. He lived almost simultaneously with Leonardo da Vinci. He is buried in the cathedral of his birthplace.
Of course, his home town Den Bosch organizes all kinds of commemorative festivities and not just an exhibition of his work. Also you can make a tour on the roof of the St John´s cathedral. We were lucky. In the end we could reserve entrance tickets when we were in The Netherlands last month. The roof walk was a surprising experience. From close quarters, we could admire the almost hundred statues on the flying buttresses and chapels.
One of the most recently placed statues (2011) is an angel on the roof of a chapel. A substitute for a deteriorated one. It is a normal angel, but if you look closely you can see that she ( he?) is calling from a mobile phone! Humour on the roof of the church! It could be yet a modern version of the wondrous creatures in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch.
Whats more, the angel has a number you can call! Church’s restoration uses the benefits for the monument´s restoration. A jolly side of Dutch business sense.
Have a try yourself: 0900-7468526