Biographical comics are pieces of this type that I use rarely and reluctantly. However, when I got the chance to review the illustrated biography of Hieronymus Bosch, I eagerly took advantage of it. Why? I don't know, but I know it was a bull's-eye.
The darkness of the Middle Ages on the threshold of the Renaissance
The story presented in the pages of the comic tells us the life and work, as well as the inspirations of Jeroen van Aken, known as Hieronymus Bosch. We get to know his family, friends and hometown, which is the main source of his demons. Den Bosch is a place like there were many in Europe at that time. Full of filth, poverty and mock piety. On the threshold of a new era, in such settlements, one could find the true darkness of the Middle Ages, with all their brutality and troubling demons. Brought up in such an environment, Jeroen, a member of a family of painters, sees more than others and is able to translate his everyday life into demonic canvases that the whole world will later know. The comic book author Marcel Ruijters shows us the whole depth of this dirty world, so similar to ours. We observe public executions, bloody suppression of uprisings, and the false piety represented by monks consecrated to the Lord. This presentation of the subject enables us to understand what shaped one of the most extraordinary early Renaissance painters.
“Hieronim Bosc” – comic strip
The line – suggestive and strange
Apart from the great plot, the comic book line deserves special attention. It is very unusual and even bizarre in places. The characters have very large noses on disproportionately large heads in relation to the rest of the body. The environment was drawn using many lines that are not entirely straight. Added to this is the color scheme, which is almost vivid. Such a procedure made it possible to present the executions and other bloody attractions of the early Renaissance in a very suggestive way. Even the demons themselves aren’t as scary as they should be. You can see that the draftsman has worked hard, because nothing has been done in the head here. Each frame is well-thought-out and has its place, and if you cut one out, it would turn out that the others do not have such synergy and the whole does not have such a suggestive effect on the recipient. Hieronymus Bosch’s life ran in a rather specific era, also devoting a comic book to him, which is in all respects remarkably specific, seems to be an ideal form of tribute to the great painter. The use of a strange line, highlighting a few details and we already feel as if we are communing with the canvases of the Dutch master.
“Hieronymus Bosch” – comic strip
Release – it’s better than good
For a publishing house I have not known so far, Timoff shows that he can publish comics. Great paper, a good translation and the format of the booklet are all that is needed to issue the maximum note. It is great.
To sum up, Hieronymus Bosch is a comic book that everyone should read, especially fans of the Middle Ages and the painter from Den Bosch. It perfectly captures the artist’s life and shows what he was looking for inspiration in. It really is the perfect tribute to such an extraordinary figure. Really worth.
