500-year-old Bosch painting discovered in Kansas City
February 2, 2016
An international team of researchers spent five years using sophisticated infra-red technology to determine that the painting - entitled "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" - is indeed a work of the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch.
The discovery was unveiled on Monday (01.02.2016) in the Noordbrabants Museum in Bosch's hometown, 's-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands. Celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of his death are slated to kick off there on February 13.
The work, which was most likely created between 1500 and 1510, was previously believed to have been painted by Bosch's student. It "is a significant addition to the small body of existent work produced by Hieronymus Bosch," researchers said in a statement.
"Although the image was heavily retouched and over-painted during a 20th-century restoration, Bosch's hand is still clearly recognizable in the original brushwork," they added, pointing out the "little monsters" in the panel, typical of Bosch's style. He is widely known for his fantastic imagery, which sometimes ventures into the macabre.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri, acquired the painting in the 1930s. It remained forgotten in storage there for many years before the research began.
Hieronymus Bosch was born in 1450 and died on August 9, 1516.
kbm/eg (AFP, dpa)