Bosch's monsters get new life for 500th anniv. exhibit in the Netherlands

PanARMENIAN.Net - Monsters gorging on lost souls, demons torturing sinners contorted in pain, grinning skeletons awaiting the dying: the nightmarish visions of Hieronymus Bosch have both inspired and terrified for centuries.

Now to mark the 500th anniversary of the Dutch painter's death, a small museum in his hometown of 's-Hertogenbosch has pulled off a miracle -- bringing together 20 of the last 25 known surviving panels by the man dubbed "the devil's painter."

The exhibition at the Noordbrabants Museum opens in February, and marks the culmination of a nine-year quest by director Charles de Mooij to reunite Bosch's unique artistic legacy in the place where he lived, worked and died, Art Daily reports.

It will also kick off a year of events in 's-Hertogenbosch to honour its most famous son with parades, events and art shows, which will even see some of Bosch's most diabolical creations stalk the streets of the medieval town.

Despite the small body of his remaining works scattered in museums around the world -- as well as changing tastes over half a millennium -- fascination with Bosch has never waned.

"He created his own new imaginary language," De Mooij explained to AFP.

"All his paintings have that moralistic approach, have that message that you have to be aware of the evil in your life."