This portrait of Bosch is one of the most difficult I have done. There is very little know about this Flemish painter. We know he lived at a time when there was much stigma placed on using certain imagery in painting for fear of being called a heretic. Bosch didn’t cross that line but obliterated it, digging in and exploring both planes of heaven and hell with such garishness, and such hideousness. Bosch was called “the father of surrealism” by Surrealists over 400 years later. Many of Bosch’s works were altar pieces comprised of three panels. The two outer wings would “close in on” the middle and larger panel. This is called a triptych. The imagery in this quilt is taken from one of his better known works, “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. There are very few precious paintings surviving which can be accurately attributed to him. Most of his paintings are in museums in Pittsburg, PA or in Spain. Bosch realistically depicted our most carnal desires and our most teeth chattering fears.