„Ten demoniczny Bosch”. W czterechsetną rocznicę śmierci malarza

The article „This Demonic Bosch”. In Four-Hundredth Anniversary of Painter’s Death by Ksenia Olkusz and Wiesław Olkusz concerns the reception of Hieronymus Bosch in contemporary popular literature. Bosch inspirations are traced in Michael Connelly’s or Jeffrey Lindsay’s crime fiction, as well as in fantasy genre, represented here by Polish writer Jarosław Grzędowicz. Many writers exhibit interests in Bosch’s biography which, in turn, becomes interwoven in their storytelling. These tendencies come not only from the long-observed liaisons between literature and visual arts, but are also a consequence of the increasing popularity of mysterious works of art following Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. In at least a decade after the premiere of Brown’s work, many subsequent books has already proved to be clearly inspired by his concept. This type of novel requires to recall paintings we do not know much about or biographies of painters that are still incomplete or lack precise account of their lives. Accordingly, the oeuvre of Hieronymus Bosch—an enigmatic figure and author of disturbing artworks alike—is presented as a prodigious source of story ideas.