Jheronimus Bosch and Venice
Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Doge’s Apartment
February 18 – June 4, 2017

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ROOM 1-2 – Jheronimus Bosch’s works in Venice

Three paintings by Jheronimus Bosch can be found in the public collections of Venice. These pictures – two triptychs and a set of four panel paintings – form the heart of the exhibition.

These are autograph works dating from Bosch’s maturity and are documented as being in the Doge’s Palace since the seventeenth century. The Venetian critic Marcantonio Michiel wrote in 1521 that at that time three works by Bosch were in the collection of Cardinal Domenico Grimani, on display in his Venetian palace.

We will argue that these three works by Bosch, which are still preserved in Venice, come from this Grimani collection. For the fifth centenary of the painter’s death (2016), the three paintings underwent restoration and conservation. In the process the very high painterly qualities of these works were revealed. The restoration also made it easier to clarify some aspects of their significance and origins, which had so far remained rather obscure.

These different issues and the questions that follow as a result, are being examined in the first sections of the exhibition.