“Hieronymus Bosch. 500 Years Later” (2014 - 2004)
"The Enigma of Hieronymus Bosch" marble, 52 x 45 x 12cm, 2014 (Front)
"The Enigma of Hieronymus Bosch" marble, 52 x 45 x 12cm, 2014 (Back)
"Illustrated Treatise"
marble, 19 x 17 x 8 cm, 2012
"Hieronymus Passion"
marble, 40 x 58 x 25, 2015
"Tree of life"
marble, 73 x 30 x 18 cm, 2016 (front)
"Tree of life"
marble, 73 x 30 x 18 cm, 2016 (back)
"The Wanderer"
"Hieronymus Bosch's Ship"
marble, 50x43x18 cm, 2014
The mystery of Hieronymus Bosch emerges from the complexity of the problem that he tried to explore while creating his paintings. He hoped that the triptych “The Garden of Earthly Pleasures” would provide answers to the main questions: what is Man? what is the meaning of his existence? what are the ways to realize that this goal does exist?
To understand the idea of the artist's work a seeker should learn about the era in which the artist lived and created. Hieronymus Bosch lived in the late Middle Ages, it was the time which combined the experiences of mystical practices with the pseudology of scholastic constructions.
With little scientific knowledge and facts, Hieronymus Bosch obtained a deep understanding of human nature. Being a religious man, Hieronymus Bosch tried to resolve the contradictions between faith and scientific knowledge of the world. Thus, the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and above all "The Garden of Earthly Pleasures" are an attempt to find a figurative embodiment of the three great unknowns "God", "The Universe", "Man" and to determine the ways leading to the alleged contact with God.
The man who seeks to clarify the real picture of the world is trying to get rid of the tight shell of previous, now obsolete, ideas. Straightening his shoulders, he hopes to become active, in his movement like a sailboat, whose sails are filled with the freedom-loving wind of knowledge the symbol of which is the disk of Aeneas, an ancient cipher system. Each hole in it means a letter of the Greek alphabet, and the holes in the center are used to separate words. The letters from alpha to omega are arranged in an order known only to the initiated into the mystery. While the thread of the message unwinds, the chaos of meaningless intersections turns into a frank narrative.
The message of Hieronymus Bosch begins with the creation myth, this moment is indicated by the letter alpha in the center of the shell. Having obtained the awareness, the artist reveals his brilliant guesses about the real picture of the world and the purpose of creation in his alchemical treatise called "The Garden of Earthly Pleasures". The determination of Hieronymus Bosch to go through with his research
Plunging into the era of Hieronymus Bosch, one should mention an alchemical treatise, the inheritance of the Middle Ages. Through an alchemical treatise the technology and purpose of the existence of our world were poetically explored and illustrated. These themes are too ponderously instructive to be reflected by means of realistic art. For this reason, an author uses mythological symbolization, which meets the requirements of the theatrical approach. This art was perfectly mastered by Hieronymus Bosch.
It must also be remembered that these illustrated books require a careful approach: they should not be opened thoughtlessly or for fun. Each book with symbolic images in the alchemical drawings is a kind of attempt to mirror the world shining with the reflection of the particles of the divine Mind.
Improbable characters pass before us in a complex sequence, united by a pictorial narration. They approach, look into us and, as if passing through us, become very real and, moreover, necessary to us. Necessary to such an extent that the desire to become a participant in the alchemical action is perceived by us as a completely natural one. The logical imagery of the alchemical treatise is aimed at ordering Chaos and this is achieved by removing contradictions in relation to the concepts of Man – the Universe – God.
"The Garden of Earthly Delights"
Before us is a picture of the world represented by Hieronymus Bosch: a portrait of humanity and a self-portrait of a person at the same time. This is the view of the artist, the researcher, the scientist, dispassionately studying man and humanity as a phenomenon, and, at the same time, the view of a person involved in the cycle of tragic events that threaten his very existence.
And we can no longer take our eyes off Bosch, the scientist whose gaze from under the brim of his hat observes everything, as well as pathetic, hopeless, appealing to the audience Hieronymus Bosch who is crucified and forced to recognize the dogmas for the truth, Hieronymus Bosch who hesitates to put his signature on the verdict of humanity. Through the centuries, the artist turns to us, asking: "Is this the purpose of mankind? Is it not possible for Man to become conscious?".
What answer can we give to these questions after 500 years?
The triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights" is a complete summary of Hieronymus Bosch's thoughts on the meaning of the World and Man in it. This is a kind of a document of the Real Picture of the World dating back five hundred years. Anticipating the difficulties with understanding the meaning of the picture, the master left us a lot of tips. To find them and, having shown a bold responsibility, to present a Personal Picture of the World worthy of our time is the task facing a conscious artist.
Undoubtedly, each character of this art work embodies a part of the author’s individuality, at least in the form of his attitude to the topic of the research. But where is the true author’s self-portrait, depicted at the very moment of completion of his piece of art – the result of years of work? Where, in what scene of the vast triptych, which can be considered the author’s will, should we look for him? Surely, in the place where the document is usually signed - in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture.
An extract from Hieronymus Bosch’s secret message, which may be found under the layer of the paint of the final scene of the triptych:
Dear artists!
To You, who live in a world unknown to me, located somewhere after the end of the world, addresses Jheronimus van Aken, mostly known as Hieronymus Bosch, who lives on a sinful flat earth. Completing my Picture of the World, I am still in great doubts about how much it is true to a real one. Sometimes I feel as if I am surrounded by chimerical monsters. Having lived a long reasonable life, I still feel defenseless against their verbal stings of the power of dogma and the right of might. Is it really possible to be saved only by bequeathing to them all my property, including my Picture of the World? I am afraid of them, I am ready to take a pen in my hand to put a signature, but I continue to doubt...
Dear artists who live in your beautiful Far Away, where Philosophy is not a slave or a servant of violence, but the sovereign Mistress of Philosophy, tell me what you think is the idea of the Truth like. What is your Personal Picture of the World? Only the hope of your future efforts inspires me with fortitude.
With respect to Your opinion,
Hieronymus Bosch,
a conscious artist, trying to comprehend the meaning of the World and Man in it.
The Ship of Conscious Art
So, what is the ship of conscious art nowadays, since Hieronymus Bosch has been a member of the ship's crew for 500 years? Who does the ship's crew consist of now? And what kind of wind fills the ship’s sails?
These are personalities whose mind and heart are lit by the Promethean Flame, seekers obsessed with the desire to know the world. The ship’s sails are filled with the energy of people moving towards the cherished goal of knowing reality in all its areas.
For me as an artist, one of the sources of such energy is primarily the energy originating from Ancient Greece. Only there will you meet such a variety of different beings: gods of different generations, Titanic peoples, chimerical monsters, people of the "Five Ages " of humanity, and, of course, a tribe of heroes whose efforts allow to keep the ship of conscious art close-hauled with each tack. Their exploits transform our world, making it more harmonious and complex at the same time.
On our life path, all of us have a chance to meet the crew members of such a ship who strive in different areas of human activity. Such a person could be a teacher, a business partner, a friend. We’ve known them for ages and appreciate them, but we do not consider them metaphysicians (they sometimes do not consider themselves as such either), because they speak to us in a simple and clear language full of meaning. The truth doesn't need to be too much complicated. Too many intricate words most often designate the territory of lies.
Conscious art is demiurgic in nature. This is a truthful labour of enlightenment, in which the profoundpossession of themesimpliestransmitting meaningin its entirety. The goal of conscious art is fulfilled if an artist possessingthe free, exploring mind of the individual human creates a piece of art which complexity and completeness correspond to the artist's level of knowledge about the world.
Individual conscious art is a tool of cognition, it assesses the past, clarifies the present and predicts the possible future. It is futuristic and virtuoso at the same time. It is the individual conscious art that has its own voice, designed for a dialogue, understanding and mutual understanding. New things need to be explained. Only through athoroughly developed concept new images acquire symbolic importance. This puts them in the category of developing ideas. Verbal explanations of the visual image synthesize a new, more complex comprehension of the subject of research, speeding up the process of the natural march of evolution.
Overcoming waves of years and decades the ship of conscious art every hundred years rises to the crest of another century from which a wide panorama of life opens. We are lucky living at the time of change: the change of ages and epochs. From the top of a steep wave you can look beyond the far horizon of events and clarify the course to the intended Contact. This is our chance and we must take full advantage of it.