A Boschian Pantomme
The Museo del Prado is today presenting a comic which offers a combined narrative and visual approach to the work of Jheronimus Bosch through a story-line that its creator Max, winner of the National Comic Prize in 2007, has woven around the paintings by the artist in the Museo del Prado.
From Extracting the Stone of Madness to The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych and The Temptation of Saint Anthony, readers of the comic journey through the artist’s themes and motifs which are woven together through concepts such as torment, melancholy and self-absorption and through Bosch’s depiction of the infinite variety of the world and its ability to astonish and enchant us.
Deploying the reflexive humour characteristic of his cartoons, Max focuses his gaze on the characters in the paintings, giving them their own voice and bringing them to life in an unprecedented and highly unconventional approach to the mysteries of Bosch’s art.
Jheronimus Bosch’s work has survived for five centuries without losing anything of its ability to fascinate the viewer. It remains today one of the great enigmas of art history and has given rise to the widest range of interpretations, controversies and debates on its intentions and meaning. Until now, however, few visual artists have taken part in these debates.
The publication of Triptych of the Enchanted (a Boschian pantomime) by Max is part of Bosch. The 5th Centenary Exhibition project, for which the sole sponsor is Fundación BBVA. The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive and wide-ranging programme of related activities which has included the making of a documentary film.