Art Madrid'25 – Bosch the 5th centenary exhibition

 

 

 

500 years ago died one of the most enigmatic, brilliant and fascinating figures in the history of art, Jeronimus van Aeken, born in Hertogenbosch (Netherlands), in his life he was known by the nickname Bosch (El Bosco for Spanish ).

 

 

Now, the most important museum in Spain, El Prado Museum, offers the largest exhibition of genius on the occasion of the V centenary of his death, an ambitious exhibition curated by Pilar Silva, Head of Department of Spanish Painting (1100-1500) and Flemish Painting, including works from the Albertina Museum and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Museale Polo Veneto Venice, or the Museum of Ancient Art of Lisbon. In total 65 works of art of which 25 have been attributed to Bosch, nine to his workshop, and the others to artists of the time.

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the complication of chronological order the life and work of the Dutch artist, the show is divided in 6 thematic sections: Childhood and Public Life of Christ, Saints, from Paradise to Hell, The Garden of Earthly Delights, The world and man: Pecados capital and secular works, and The Passion of the Christ. The sections cover from his first landscapes of his hometown and its beginnings with other Flemish painters of the time, until his influence on the art of the sixteenth century with the epilogue "After Bosch". An opportunity to enjoy exceptional pieces like the 'Triptych of the Temptations of San Antonio', the 'Adoration of the Magi', The Hay Wain and, of course, The Garden of Earthly Delights.

 

 

 

 

With "Bosch. The exhibition of the V centenary" we enjoy the essential themes that Bosch is in his paintings, mainly religious and allegorical. The latter full of symbolism and tradition of the time, of the virtues and vices of society around him.

 

 

 

 

The exhibition is also necessary from the perspective of the specialist as it helps to reveal numerous questions about its referrals, especially the analysis of their catalog and chronology work. In addition, the Prado Museum, a pioneer in the technical study painting Bosco, has reanalyzed their works making use of the latest developments. Visitors to the exhibition can see some of the results of this study with infrared reflectography and radiography of The Garden of Earthly Delights, allowing verify the creative process of the work, with the surprising changes that the artist made since he started the underlying drawing until concluded the pictorial surface.

 

In addition, the great program organized around the exhibition includes a sensory journey through the triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights".


 

From July 7 to 9, 2025, the Balsera Palace will host the First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art, an intensive 15-hour program that will explore the complex and fundamental question of taste in contemporary art. Organized by the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities at Nebrija University and the Avilés City Council, in collaboration with 9915 — Association of Private Collectors of Contemporary Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art, the course offers a unique opportunity for analysis and debate on the dynamics that shape aesthetic and symbolic value in today’s art scene.


First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art. Avilés, Asturias


The notion of taste, intrinsically tied to aesthetic judgments and power relations, has played a decisive role in the historical prominence of artists and artworks. However, contemporary art—marked by its breaking of conventions, diversity of media and techniques, and critical stance toward traditional canons—raises fundamental questions about the continued relevance of this concept.

This course will explore how the decisions made by key players in the art system—institutions, private collections, galleries, curators, and artists—continually redefine a field of taste shaped by aesthetic, symbolic, cultural, social, and political logics.


"¿But does it exist, and what is the prevailing taste of our time—so seemingly confused, fragmented, indecipherable?" - Omar Calabrese, The Neo-Baroque Era.


The academic program, directed by José Luis Guijarro Alonso, Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University, and Pablo Álvarez de Toledo, Head of the Department of Arts at Nebrija University and the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities, will bring together a distinguished group of national experts—including collectors, critics, curators, gallery owners, and artists—whose contributions will address key issues in shaping aesthetic, symbolic, and market value in today’s art world.


PROGRAM

MONDAY, JULY 7

9:30 AM Registration.

10:00 AM Course Opening Nebrija University Avilés City Council Presented by Rosario López Meras – President of the Association of Contemporary Art Collectors, 9915, and Adrián Piera – President of the ICA, Institute of Contemporary Art.

10:30 AM Course Presentation By José Luis Guijarro Alonso – Art Historian and Anthropologist, Researcher, and Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion The Taste of Private Collecting as a Prelude to History. Speakers: Candela Álvarez Soldevilla – Entrepreneur and Collector; Javier Quilis – INELCOM Collection; José Miguel Vegas Valle – Collector. Moderator: Luis Feás – Critic and Curator.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Individual Lecture On Good Taste in Contemporary Art. Speaker: Marisol Salanova – Curator and Art Critic, Director of Arteinformado.

4:45 PM Panel Discussion The Influence of Galleries in Shaping Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Elba Benítez – Gallerist; Ricardo Pernas – Gallerist (Arniches 26); Aurora Vigil-Escalera – Gallerist. Moderator: Rafael Martín – Coleccion@casamer.

6:00 PM End of Day.

6:30 PM Activity and Cocktail Visit to the Exhibition Asturian Artists in the Pérez Simón Collection – Avilés.

TUESDAY, JULY 8

10:00 AM Individual Lecture Contemporary (Bad) Taste: Kitsch, Camp, and Tacky. Speaker: Julio Pérez Manzanares – Autonomous University of Madrid.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion Institutions and the Formation of Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Virginia López – Artist, Founder of PACA_Proyectos Artísticos Casa Antonino; Julieta de Haro – Artistic Director of CentroCentro; Carlos Urroz – Director of Institutional Relations, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Moderator: Laura Gutiérrez – Director, School of Art of Oviedo.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Panel Discussion Beyond the Eye: The Taste for Ethical, Ecological, Social, or Political Concerns in Contemporary Art. Speakers: Semíramis González – Independent Curator; Eugenio Ampudia – Artist; Claudia Rodríguez-Ponga – Independent Curator. Moderator: Bárbara Mur Borrás – PhD in Fine Arts.

5:00 PM End of Day.

5:30 PM Activity Visit to the Studiolo Exhibition – Candela Álvarez Soldevilla Collection.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

9:30 AM Meeting with Asturian Artists Speakers: María Castellanos – Artist; Avelino Sala – Artist; Consuelo Vallina – Artist. Moderator: Pablo Álvarez de Toledo – Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Activity Visit to the Niemeyer Center – Avilés.

Course Closing Ceremony.





This course is designed for art professionals, collectors, researchers, and students seeking an in-depth analysis of the dynamics that shape taste and collecting practices in contemporary art. Adopting a critical and multidisciplinary perspective, it provides a unique opportunity to rigorously examine the aesthetic, symbolic, and structural factors that underpin the legitimization of contemporary art.