Concert in an Egg

most people consider the painting of the concert in an egg now in the museum to be by hieronymus bosch however internal evidence clearly shows this could not have been created before 1549 some 33 years after bosch had died a drawing originating in bosch's workshop has survived which is likely to have been a sketch for a similar painting this is a rough sketch of the idea for the work rather than being a detailed cartoon for a painting seen side by side one finds only a few general elements survive into the painting the open music book the hole in the egg the outstretched arm of the topmost figure and the owl none of the characters depicted in the sketch appear to have been used in the painting itself it is not too far-fetched to suggest that bosch created a painting on this theme which has not survived and that the leo painting was a copy made from this clearly it has many bosch visual devices and resonated with his style there is another copy by gaelis panhadel also known as gaelis vanden bosch an artist who followed the bosch style which was sold in 2005 by hotel drought the large auction house in paris it must have been produced sometime before 1577 when panhandle died it is closer in conception to the allele having ten figures in the egg which are depicted in the same style but retains from the sketch the beaker being held aloft by the topmost figure on the right the allele however dispenses with some elements from the gaelis panhandle version the leaves and fruit on the right the dead cockrells hanging at the center and the jester wand while adding some other elements in the concert in an egg most of the ten musicians are concentrating hard on reading the music from the open book the musical notation within the painting was analyzed recently and was found to be a work created in 1549 by thomas kreckellong born around 1505 and dying in 1557 a composer of the franco flemish school cricket law was from the netherlands and active after bush's death this song comes from a collection chanson omarus and translates as every night when i go to bed without you two figures at the back of the crowd of the musicians do not appear to be participating on the right is a nun holding up a whirly gig on our head perches an owl a bird often found in bosch's paintings and on its head in turn a crow or magpie pecks at the owl's feathers the figure on the left is a surly faced man upon whose head is a ruinous dove cut upon which black and white birds stand two of the figures in the group play instruments the one closest to a music book plays a harp while the one to the rear of the group is playing what appears to be a cornetto on the red cap of the cornetto player stands a stork the figure at the front of the group who appears to be acting as a conductor pointing to the music has what appears to be a glass beaker balanced on the crown of his head behind the heart player is a man with spectacles on his head is an inverted metal funnel emitting smoke from its spout this is a common symbol in belgium's visual language perhaps related to the conical dance's hat indicating stupidity there are however other readings of this symbol two other instrumentalists appear in holes further down the egg a donkey-headed figure plays the loot while a monkey pokes its head out from another hole and plays a black cornetto on the left a tree grows from the egg from its branches hangs a wine pitcher and a wicker basket holding a picnic of a cooked chicken bread an egg and an orange two black birds are helping themselves to the feast on the ground below the egg there are various scenes on the right there is a large slipper in which some people have made their home outside are two spoon-billed monks who appear in many of bosh's works this section appears to be a visual quotation from the hell panel of bosch's garden of earthly delights beside the donkey headed lutanist a cut purse thief emerges from the hole and is seen in the act of cutting the cord holding the purse of the conductor while he's immersed in the music many people think this painting to be from the hand of bosch himself but as we have seen this is not so it is however so much in his style that it may be a copy of an actual work by him it is an emanation from an as yet unidentified follower of bosch and captures the spirit of the artist it perhaps relates to bosch's ship of fools where he depicts a group of self-indulgent characters sailing in a small boat drinking and singing led by a monk and a nun peter van der heyden in 1562 created an engraving musicians in a muscle shell which takes up this imagery further through his followers bosch remained an influence throughout the 16th century you

Channel: Adam McLean

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Id: DM712JS9bGM

Length: 8min 29sec (509 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 10 2021