Abstract
"Medieval dumps yield the everyday items found in Heironymus Bosch's enigmatic paintings. But what about the walking bagpipe?

Surrealist. Drug addict. Heretic. Revolutionary. Art historians, theologians, and psychiatrists, among others, have all offered explanations for the bizarre paintings of medieval artist Hieronymus Bosch. Now, everyday utensils and religious mementos recovered from 500-year-old garbage dumps in Bosch's Dutch hometown of Den Bosch, about 50 miles south of Amsterdam, are showing that this gifted painter was also a man of his times."

When I first started looking at art for ideas and the like I looked at the typical Albrecht, Duerer, and others. I always thought Bosch was too allegorical and abstract to have any real value (even though I love his work. Then while cleaning out my subscriptions of Archaeology Magazine I found this and it is a brilliant article!

I was quite surprised to see how accurate his paintings were. His detail is so in depth that he even includes makers marks. The marks and the detail he uses are even supported by extant examples. So I say next time you are wanting to get an idea for everyday items, give Bosch a once over, you'll be surprised what you find. Think of it as a Medieval "Where's Waldo".

~jason

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