Circles of Thorns

Using the still, small and sombre image of "Christ Mocked" by Bosch as a basis, this book works around the painting in five 'circles' to explore the political, scientific, psychological and devotional world of early modern Europe and its implications for us today.Unlike Bosch's better-known, fantastical, 'proto-surrealist' paintings, "Christ Mocked" is small, still and sombre, and yet, with a little effort of knowledge and interpretation, it reveals a depth of understanding of both the Passion, and of human nature, that speaks as much to the twenty-first century as it did to the sixteenth.By exploring the political, scientific, psychological and devotional world of early modern Europe, and applying those insights to our own time, the author shows how Bosch used his sophisticated artistic skills to convey a similarly sophisticated understanding of humanity. In "Christ Mocked" - a painting '500 years old but passionately modern' - "Christ's Passion" is so portrayed as to make us reassess the cosmic significance of Christ's death, and its profound implications for what we think it means to be human.