Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil

One might expect this documentary to be either a biography of the titular Dutch painter or a scholarly study of his phantasmagorical depictions of peasant life and Hell, some of which are so bizarre that they have been described as forerunners of surrealism. While Pieter van Huystee's film touches on these matters—offering a sketch of Bosch's life and commenting on the symbolism of the owls in his paintings—the primary focus is on the effort of a group of experts to arrange an exhibit of Bosch's work at the museum in Den Bosch, the artist's hometown, in recognition of the 500th anniversary of his death in 1516. Their mission involves trips to repositories where most of the 20-odd identified (but undated) paintings, as well as drawings, ascribed to Bosch are housed—including museums in Venice and Vienna, but particularly the Prado in Madrid. (King Philip II of Spain assiduously collected Bosch's works, including The Garden of Earthly Delights, likely his most famous painting.) Fraught negotiations to arrange the loan of the precious artwork to Den Bosch's Noordbrabants Museum take up considerable running time here, but while the back-and-forth is intriguing, the team's investigation of individual works—closely examining brushstrokes and using infrared cameras to peer beneath the surface paint—is truly fascinating, leading to debates about whether some items should be considered collaborative efforts that involved other members of Bosch's workshop (a trip to Kansas City to assess the authenticity of a painting sometimes attributed to Bosch is a highlight). Extras include deleted scenes. Sure to appeal to those with an interest in art history, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)