On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02056
- Author
- Bosch, Hieronymus (Flemish)
- Title
- Extracting the Stone of Madness
- Chronology
- Ca. 1490
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 47,5 cm x 34,5 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Inside a circle, Bosch represents
an operation to extract the stone
of madness, which takes place in a
broad landscape. Four persons
occupy the scene. The surgeon
stands, and the hapless patient
sits. An assistant stands beside
him while an old woman leans on the
pedestal table with a book on her
head.
The inscription in gothic lettering
that frames the circle translates
as: “Master, extract this stone
from me soon, my name is Lubbert
Das” [This name is sometimes
translated as: “Castrated
Badger”].
Bosch makes fun of the central
character's attempt to cure his
madness, which is understood to be
stupidity or ignorance, a very
common argument in several Flemish
proverbs. The doctor's inverted
funnel seems to imply that he is
the true madman, while the woman
with a book on her head, who looks
on in amazement, seems to represent
the weight of science. The tulip on
the table represents the economic
cost of the operation, symbolizing
the surgeon's profit and casting
him as a fraud.
In the sixteenth century, Felipe de
Guevara owned a work on this
subject, which was sold to Felipe
II by his heirs. However, its size
and format were different than the
present work, which was first
mentioned in 1745 in the Duke of
Arco's country home, from which it
entered the Royal Collection.
Location on the map
