Stichterportretten bij Jheronimus Bosch

Because of their relatively traditional iconography, the paintings by Hieronymus Bosch depicting donor portraits have received little attention until now. Further investigation into these works show a different side to Bosch's work. In these donor portraits, the artist faithfully followed the pictorial tradition in both iconography as in the position of the donor. Here, we may assume a traditional relationship between artist and patron, whereby the (generally conventional) bourgeoisie requested a conventional iconography. Bosch and his workshop delivered as requested.
Bosch's donor portraits have been painted over extraordinary often. This possibly occurred after the paintings' function changed or after a change of ownership, where the portrait of the original donor was no longer wanted. The explanation that Bosch himself was responsible for this, starts from the idea of the self-willed arts who could not get along with his patrons. This image is probably prompted by the, often, curious iconography of many of the paintings by Bosch. This article aims to restore these donor portraits in their rightful place in the artist's oeuvre.