Art historians have discovered what is thought to be a ‘new’ painting by Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), the Dutch artist known for his surreal imagery and use of religious symbolism.

The painting, named The Temptation of St. Anthony and measuring 38.6 cm by 25.1 cm, was kept in the cellar of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas in the US, where it had been attributed his workshop or a follower.

The discovery was made thanks to the efforts of the Bosch Research and Conservation Project (BSCP), a largely Dutch-backed undertaking which has seen an international team of experts analysing and cataloguing a large number of known and suspected  Bosch paintings and drawings.

Small collection

Infrared photography and infrared reflectography have revealed earlier versions of parts of the painting which match other known panels by Bosch. The date of the new find, which brings the known number of paintings by Bosch to around 25, has been put at between 1500 and 1510.

The announcement comes days before the kick-off of a major retrospective of Bosch’s work in his native Den Bosch. Hieronymus Bosch: Visions of Genius, which includes the newly discovered painting, is on at the Noordbrabants Museum from February 13 to May 8.

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