by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on November 4, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
The Christ Child lies across the bottom of the painting, with his head towards the right and his bare feet towards the left. Mary joins her hands above him. Joseph bends down from the opposite side, while an ox and a donkey bring their heads close to the infant. Behind this unusually crowded foreground, a third man looks around the edge of a patterned curtain.
The painting belongs to the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, where it is catalogued as Die Geburt Christi, The Birth of Christ, inventory WRM 0474. The city collection record classifies its painter as an imitator of Hieronymus Bosch and dates it to the second half of the sixteenth century.[1] Adoration of the Child is another familiar title for this later painting, whose intimate arrangement has prompted a long debate about its relationship with Bosch.
At a Glance
- TitleThe Birth of Christ, also known as Adoration of the Child
- AttributionImitator of Hieronymus Bosch, in the city collection record
- Museum exhibition wordingAfter Hieronymus Bosch
- DateSecond half of the sixteenth century
- MediumOil on oak panel
- Dimensions105.5 × 84.2 cm
- CollectionWallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, Cologne
- InventoryWRM 0474
- ProvenanceFerdinand Franz Wallraf; given to the city in 1824
Compare these works across Bosch’s career
These date ranges are estimates, not a documented year-by-year sequence. These works provide context for the article; none is highlighted as the object discussed here.
Saint Jerome at Prayer
Circa 1485–1495 [2]Crucifixion with a Donor
Circa 1490–1500 (BRCP) [2]Hermit Saints Triptych
Circa 1495–1505 [2]Saint Liberata Triptych
Circa 1495–1505 [2]The Hearing Forest and the Seeing Field
Circa 1500–1505 (Berlin exhibition) [3]The Haywain Triptych
1510–1516 (BRCP) [2]Contents
Annotated Details from Adoration of the Child: Cologne Version
This is the Cologne Nativity, Wallraf-Richartz inventory WRM 0474. It differs from the related Brussels painting. The city record identifies an imitator of Bosch.
Details from ADORATION OF THE CHILD: COLOGNE VERSION
Explore the closely grouped faces, the child and the small background episodes.
Mary and the man at the right
Mary’s joined hands rise beside the child while an older man leans inward from the right. Their lowered faces direct attention towards the foreground.
The child and the animals
The child lies on a dark surface beneath the ox and the ass. The long ears and the ox’s broad head create different shapes above the small body.
The figures and birds behind
A smiling face appears between the two larger heads. Farther back, a small fire scene and birds occupy narrow openings on either side of the hanging.
Image and detail crops: Wikimedia Commons source 1 (public domain reproductions).
The Child at the Front of the Picture
Instead of placing the infant far inside a stable, the painter brings him almost to the viewer's own space. His body lies on a dark surface scattered with long stalks and finer plant material. The pale skin forms a strong horizontal shape beneath the much taller figures. Bent knees, small open hands and the turn of the face make this the most physically exposed part of the scene.
The surrounding bodies create an enclosure without closing the child off completely. Mary's hands point down towards him from the left, Joseph's hand rests near his head at the right, and the two animal muzzles approach from above and beside him. Each figure reaches the infant through a different gesture or direction of attention. The result is both protective and slightly crowded.
A stone barrier runs behind the child. Its pale upper edge separates the adults' half-length figures from the darker foreground, though the donkey's head crosses it. The barrier gives the composition a firm horizontal division. Across that line, the heads and hands connect spaces that otherwise seem sharply separated.
Mary's White Mantle and the Curtain
Mary's head inclines towards the infant, with lowered eyes and a small, composed mouth. Long reddish-brown hair falls beside her neck and shoulder. Her hands meet in prayer, their fingertips rising in a narrow pointed form. The quietness of her face contrasts with the smiling expression of the onlooker behind her.
A broad white mantle surrounds the upper body and hangs down beside her face. Its pale surface catches attention without requiring jewels or elaborate fastenings. Inside it, the darker garment gives her joined hands a clear background. The contrast helps the gesture remain legible among the nearby animal heads and Joseph's larger sleeve.
Behind Mary, a tall hanging carries repeated curved and interlacing forms. Its patterned surface is more elaborate than her clothing. The curtain also divides the background vertically, leaving separate views of the landscape on either side. It is at once a rich backdrop for the sacred figure and a practical device for arranging several small scenes within one narrow panel.
The dark upright at the curtain's right edge provides another strong division. The onlooker peers around it, creating the impression of someone entering a space already occupied by others. He does not stand in the same unbroken setting as Mary, even though his face is very close to hers.
Joseph's Different Gesture
Joseph wears a pinkish-red robe beneath a dark hooded covering. His pale face is turned downwards, and the broad curve of his hood encloses the head. Wrinkles around the eyes and mouth distinguish him from Mary's smoother features. His bent arm creates a large rounded passage of colour across the right side.
One hand is partly concealed inside the garment at his chest; the other is open beside the child. The asymmetry is striking. Mary presents two hands together in an immediately recognisable prayer gesture, while Joseph's devotion is conveyed through a more particular bodily arrangement. His lowered gaze continues the direction established by his bending head and shoulder.
The hidden hand has attracted explanations ranging from warmth to an expression of affection. The Jheronimus Bosch Art Center's discussion treats its precise meaning as open.[4] The visible pose can be described more securely than a single symbolic translation of it. It does not require Joseph to be identified with a vice merely because similar hand positions appear elsewhere.
A Shepherd behind the Curtain
The third man wears a close dark hood and holds a long staff with a small metal, shovel-like end. That implement identifies his pastoral role in the specialist discussion of the painting.[4] He is a shepherd looking into the Nativity, rather than a woman holding a spoon or an unidentified attendant performing a domestic task.
His face is narrow, with a prominent nose, sideways-looking eyes and visible teeth. The expression introduces a different emotional register from Mary's stillness. The staff, held close against the vertical curtain edge, reinforces his position at a threshold. We see his head and hand clearly but have little information about the rest of his body.
It is possible to find his smile curious, awkward or intrusive without deciding that he is hostile. His proximity to the Holy Family makes him part of the encounter, yet the curtain prevents him from appearing fully settled within it. That combination of access and separation is one of the composition's most distinctive effects.
The Ox and the Donkey
The ox's large head enters from the lower left. Curved dark horns, a reddish tuft of hair and a broad pale muzzle give it a substantial presence. Its visible eye faces outwards more directly than Mary's or Joseph's eyes. The animal therefore seems to acknowledge the viewer while remaining physically close to the child.
The donkey occupies a narrower central space. Its long ears rise between the people, and its muzzle points down towards the infant. Compared with the ox, its darker colouring makes it less immediately prominent, but its position draws attention back to the middle of the picture. The two heads offer different paths towards the same vulnerable body.
The Rijksmuseum's catalogue relates this family of compositions to devotional accounts of the animals warming the newborn with their breath.[5] That reading gives their closeness a practical tenderness. They are not simply familiar stable furnishings: the placement of their heads helps make the child's exposure to cold a central concern.
Two Openings onto Winter
At the upper left, ruined walls frame two small figures near a fire. One sits close to the flames, while the other extends his hands towards their warmth. Scattered vessels and implements give their surroundings a rough, inhabited character. Beyond them, a broken arch opens onto pale ground and thin trees.
The view at the upper right is more expansive. Bare branches rise against the sky, and a distant church spire punctuates the low landscape. An angel appears above a small shepherd and flock. The two background openings extend the Nativity beyond the immediate gathering, joining the infant's birth to the announcement made elsewhere.
Their scale also changes the pace of looking. The foreground demands attention through large faces, hands and animal muzzles. The landscape asks us to search for much smaller incidents. Moving between the two produces a contrast between the close act of adoration and people who are occupied at a distance.
A dark-and-pale bird sits on the wall at the right. It has often been called a magpie, though that identification and its symbolic implications have been debated.[4] Visually, it marks the corner where the enclosed foreground meets the open landscape. Its still silhouette provides a pause above Joseph's broad hood.
Why the Later Date Matters
The wood evidence places this panel after Bosch's lifetime. The Bosch Research and Conservation Project's Technical Studies lists Cologne inventory 474 with a youngest measured ring of 1551. Its calculated earliest possible production is 1562, with 1564 given as the more likely earliest production under the publication's stated assumptions.[6]
These are lower limits calculated from the wood, not dates painted on the picture. The method allows for missing outer growth rings and time for seasoning and transport. The table uses the title Adoration of the Magi for inventory 474, whereas the owning collection identifies that inventory as The Birth of Christ.[1][6] The inventory number is therefore important when following the technical reference.
The museum's own 2017 exhibition caption describes the work as after Bosch and dates it to the second half of the sixteenth century.[7] That broad dating is appropriate here. Neither the wood calculation nor the caption supplies a named later painter, and the panel should not be assigned to a specific follower on resemblance alone.
A Lost Original or a Later Invention?
The current city record includes commentary preserving an older argument for Bosch's authorship, even though its main catalogue heading classifies an imitator.[1] The difference reflects the painting's complicated attribution history. A description of expressive qualities can remain valuable while its conclusion about the painter requires reconsideration.
In 1889, Carl Justi treated the Cologne painting as Bosch's work. His account stressed its restraint, Mary's contemplation, the cold setting and the animals' apparent sympathy for the child.[8] Read today, that passage documents an early response to the picture. It does not override the later wood evidence or restore the painting to Bosch's own lifetime.
The Rijksmuseum's catalogue sets out two explanations for the related compositions: copies reflecting a lost Bosch original, or later imitations assembled from Bosch-related motifs.[5] The distinction matters. Repeated versions establish the circulation of a design, but cannot by themselves prove that a lost autograph painting once existed.
The Wider Rijksmuseum Version
The related Nativity in the Rijksmuseum, SK-A-4131, has a horizontal format and is catalogued in Bosch's manner, about 1550–1600. It measures 58 × 76 cm.[5] It is a separate painting, with its own support, condition and collecting history.
Its most conspicuous addition is a group of small musical angels above the crib, between Mary and the donkey. Their rounded heads, book and instruments occupy space that is much tighter in the Cologne arrangement. The plain green curtain also differs from Cologne's patterned hanging. The comparison shows how a recognisable gathering could be expanded and altered rather than repeated without change.
Cologne's version keeps the encounter more compressed. Mary, Joseph, shepherd and animals gather around the infant with few intervening figures. Whatever the design's precise origin, that close arrangement remains the painting's particular achievement: a scene of devotion in which warmth, attention and physical nearness carry much of the meaning.
Artworks and related attributions
Browse paintings, drawings and related attributions. Records group triptychs, fragments and two-sided sheets where appropriate. Dates follow the cited museum records or catalogue headings and are generally estimates. Rows marked “2016 catalogue” report that publication’s attribution and collection information; these are dated opinions, rather than a claim that every work is an accepted autograph Bosch.
| Name | Date | Medium, attribution and collection |
|---|---|---|
| A Crossbowman | Second half of the sixteenth century | Oil on oak panel · Copy after Hieronymus Bosch · Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid · P002695 Source 1. Source 2. |
| A Woman Spinning and an Old Woman | Museum estimates: about 1480–1490 for the women and 1500–1505 for the reverse; the precise chronology is disputed | Pen and brown and grey ink on the front; pen and brown ink on the reverse · Hieronymus Bosch · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam · N 190 recto and verso (PK) Source 1. Source 2. |
| Adoration of the Child in Cologne | Second half of the sixteenth century | Oil on oak panel · Imitator of Hieronymus Bosch, in the city collection record · Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, Cologne · WRM 0474 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Adoration of the Magi in Philadelphia | Early sixteenth century in the museum record; around 1495–1520 in the BRCP catalogue | Oil on oak panel · Hieronymus Bosch in the museum record; workshop of Bosch in the 2016 BRCP catalogue · Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection, 1917 · 1321; museum object 103592 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Adoration of the Magi — New York | c.1470–1480 | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on oak · Metropolitan Museum 13.26 2016 catalogue. |
| Adoration of the Magi — Prado triptych | c.1494 | Oil on oak; grisaille exterior · Bosch · Prado P002048 Object source. |
| Adoration of the Magi — three associated fragments | c.1515–1535 | 2016 catalogue: Follower of Bosch · Two Shepherds / Retinue in Philadelphia; associated Adoration in private collection in 2016 2016 catalogue. |
| Ascent of the Blessed — Venice | c.1505–1515 | Oil on panel · Bosch · Gallerie dell’Accademia; Visions of the Hereafter Object source. |
| Battle of the Birds and Mammals | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; pen and brown ink · Berlin KdZ 14715 2016 catalogue. |
| Beggars and Musicians | Around 1530–1540 | Ink and wash on paper · Unknown follower of Hieronymus Bosch · Albertina, Vienna · 7798 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Christ Carrying the Cross Drawing | Around 1470 in the museum catalogue | Black chalk or charcoal, pen and brush in brown ink, white corrections · Anonymous, workshop of Rogier van der Weyden · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam · N 81 recto and verso (PK) Source 1. Source 2. |
| Christ Carrying the Cross in Vienna | Around 1490–1510 in the current KHM record and BRCP catalogue | Oil on oak, painted on both sides · Hieronymus Bosch; possible workshop involvement in the Passion side discussed by the BRCP · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna · Gemäldegalerie, GG 6429 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Christ Carrying the Cross — El Escorial | c.1495–1505 | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on oak · Patrimonio Nacional 10014739 2016 catalogue. |
| Christ Carrying the Cross — Ghent | c.1510–1516 (museum) | Oil on panel · Bosch in museum listing; authorship disputed · MSK Ghent 1902-H Object source. |
| Christ Mocked — London | c.1510 | Oil on wood · Bosch · National Gallery NG4744 Object source. |
| Concert in the Egg, After Hieronymus Bosch | Around 1561; third quarter of the sixteenth century | Oil on canvas · Anonymous, after Hieronymus Bosch · Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille · P 816 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Conjurer / Comical Concert — Louvre drawing | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch (recto), follower (concert verso) · Pen and brown ink · Louvre INV 19197 2016 catalogue. |
| Conjurer / Cross-bearing and beggars — Liège sheet | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch (verso), follower (recto) · Pen and brown ink · Album d’Arenberg 534 2016 catalogue. |
| Crowning with Thorns — El Escorial | c.1530–1540 | 2016 catalogue: Follower of Bosch; oil on oak · Patrimonio Nacional 10014743 2016 catalogue. |
| Crucifixion with a Donor | Circa 1495–1505; Circa 1490–1500 | Oil on oak panel · Hieronymus Bosch · Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels · 6639 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Death and the Miser Drawing | Not securely established; probably made after the painting | Pen and brush, dark ink and white highlights on prepared paper · Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch in the BRCP catalogue; alternatives recorded by the Louvre · Musée du Louvre, Department of Prints and Drawings, Paris · RF 6947, Recto Source 1. Source 2. |
| Death and the Miser — Washington | c.1485/1490 (NGA) | Oil on panel · Bosch · National Gallery of Art 1952.5.33 Object source. |
| Ecce Homo Triptych — Boston | c.1495–1500; wings c.1500/1503 | 2016 catalogue: Workshop of Bosch; oil on oak · Museum of Fine Arts Boston; several production phases 2016 catalogue. |
| Ecce Homo — Frankfurt | c.1490 | Mixed technique on oak · Bosch · Städel 1577 Object source. |
| Fall of the Damned — Venice | c.1505–1515 | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on panel · Visions of the Hereafter · Venice 2016 catalogue. |
| Garden of Earthly Delights | 1490–1500 (Prado) | Oil on oak; grisaille exterior · Bosch · Prado; triptych Object source. |
| Gluttony and Lust / Allegory of Intemperance — Yale fragment | c.1500–1510 (group dating) | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on oak · Yale 1959.15.22; fragment associated with Ship of Fools 2016 catalogue. |
| Group of Ten Spectators, a Follower of Bosch | Around 1510–1540 in the current museum record | Pen and two brown inks on paper, with a brown framing line · Follower of Hieronymus Bosch in the Morgan record; Bosch in the BRCP catalogue · Morgan Library & Museum, New York · I, 112 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Head of an Old Woman | About 1500 | Oil on panel · Attributed to Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam · 2439 (OK) Source 1. Source 2. |
| Hell and the Flood — Rotterdam panels | Around 1515 in the museum records; around 1510–1520 in the BRCP catalogue | Oil on oak panels · Jheronimus Bosch in the museum records; workshop of Bosch in the BRCP catalogue · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam Source 1. Source 2. |
| Hermit Saints Triptych | Circa 1495–1505 | Oil on oak panels · Hieronymus Bosch · Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice · 2044 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Infernal Landscape | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; pen and brown ink, red accent · Private collection in 2016 2016 catalogue. |
| Infernal Scene with Anvil / Monster Studies | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; attribution debated in entry · Pen and brown ink · Berlin KdZ 548 2016 catalogue. |
| Infernal Scene with Tree-Man / Standing Man | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Workshop of Bosch; pen and brown ink · Dresden C 1875; historical reverse title includes a proposed prophet 2016 catalogue. |
| Job Triptych — Bruges | c.1510–1520 | 2016 catalogue: Workshop of Bosch; oil on oak · Groeningemuseum / Hoeke loan in 2016 2016 catalogue. |
| Last Judgement — Bruges triptych | c.1495–1505 | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on oak · Groeningemuseum 2016 catalogue. |
| Last Judgement — Munich fragment | c.1530–1540 | 2016 catalogue: Follower of Bosch; oil on oak · Alte Pinakothek 5752 2016 catalogue. |
| Last Judgement — Vienna triptych | c.1500–1505 (BRCP 2016) | Oil on oak · Bosch and workshop (BRCP 2016) · Academy of Fine Arts Vienna 2016 catalogue. |
| Man in a Basket and Comic Figures | Around 1500–1515 in the museum record | Pen and brown ink on paper; the reverse is catalogued as iron-gall ink · Hieronymus Bosch in the current Albertina record; attribution has been debated · Albertina, Vienna · 7797 recto and verso Source 1. Source 2. |
| Man Seen from Behind | About 1550–1569; About 1565–1570 | Traces of black chalk, pen and brush in light brown ink · Anonymous, circle of Pieter Bruegel the Elder · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam Source 1. Source 2. |
| Mary and John at the Foot of the Cross | About 1440 | Brush in grey and black · Unknown, possibly Netherlandish · Kupferstich-Kabinett, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden · C 815 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Model Sheet with ‘Witches’ | Disputed; proposals depend on the attribution | Pen and brown ink; the BRCP also records underlying black chalk · Hieronymus Bosch; follower attributions also recorded · Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, Paris · INV 19721 recto Source 1. Source 2. |
| Peasant and Three Bust-Length Figures | 1401–1500 | Brown pen over a black preliminary drawing · Attributed to the Master of the Drapery Studies; Bosch circle also recorded · Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · KdZ 777 Source 1. Source 2. |
| River to Hell — Venice | c.1505–1515 | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on panel · Visions of the Hereafter · Venice 2016 catalogue. |
| Saint Anthony and a Concert in an Egg | Around 1510–1525 in the museum’s 2016–17 exhibition texts | Pen in light and dark brown inks · Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch; underlying monsters: Bosch (BRCP), possibly Bosch (exhibition text) · Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · KdZ 711 recto and verso Source 1. Source 2. |
| Saint Christopher Carrying the Christ Child | c.1500; 1490–1505 in restoration material | Oil on panel · Bosch · Boijmans St 26 Object source. |
| Saint James and Hermogenes | About 1551–1575 in the KIK-IRPA catalogue | Oil on wood, painted on both sides · Anonymous follower of Hieronymus Bosch · Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes · P.46.1.44; older number 176 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Saint Jerome at Prayer | Circa 1485–1495 | Oil on oak panel · Hieronymus Bosch · Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent · 1908-H Source 1. Source 2. |
| Saint John on Patmos / Passion Scenes | c.1495–1505; estimates vary | Oil on oak · Bosch · Gemäldegalerie Berlin 1647A Object source. |
| Saint John the Baptist in Meditation | Late 15th century; c.1485–1510 (Prado exhibition) | Oil on panel · Bosch · Lázaro Galdiano 8155 Object source. |
| Saint Liberata Triptych | Circa 1495–1505 | Oil on oak panels · Hieronymus Bosch · Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice · 2045 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things | 1505–1510 (Prado) | Oil on poplar · Bosch (Prado); workshop/follower disputed · Prado Object source. |
| Ship of Fools — Louvre painting | 1475–1500 (record); c.1505–1515 (exhibition) | Oil on oak · Bosch · Louvre RF 2218; fragment Object source. |
| Ship of Fools — Louvre workshop drawing | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Workshop of Bosch · Pen, brush, grey-brown ink and white highlights on prepared paper · Louvre RF 3714 2016 catalogue. |
| Studies of Monsters | About 1530–1550, according to the current Ashmolean record | Pen and brown ink on laid paper, both faces · Anonymous follower of Hieronymus Bosch · Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford · WA1863.155 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Studies of Saint Anthony and Monsters | No execution date specified in the current Louvre records | Pen and brown ink on paper · Bosch listed; reverse questioned by Louvre; BRCP accepts both faces · Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, Paris · INV 20871 recto and verso Source 1. Source 2. |
| Temptation of Saint Anthony — Kansas City fragment | c.1500–1510 | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; oil on oak · Nelson-Atkins 35–22 2016 catalogue. |
| Temptation of Saint Anthony — Lisbon triptych | c.1500 | Oil on oak · Bosch · Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga 1498 Pint Museum. |
| Temptation of Saint Anthony — Prado panel | c.1530–1540 | 2016 catalogue: Follower of Bosch (2016 opinion); oil on oak · Prado P002049 2016 catalogue. |
| Terrestrial Paradise | Approximately 1505–1515 | Oil on oak panel · Hieronymus Bosch · Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Burning Ship Drawing | 1500–1520 | Pen and iron gall ink on paper · Attributed to Hieronymus Bosch · Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Graphic Collection · HZ-2554; numbered 2554 in the BRCP catalogue Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Comical Barber Scene | About 1550–1580, according to the British Museum | Pen and brown ink, grey and brown wash, over black chalk · Anonymous follower, after Hieronymus Bosch · British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, London · 1854,0628.46 Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Conjuror, After Hieronymus Bosch | Probably after 1525; around 1530–1540 in the BRCP technical report | Oil on oak panel · Anonymous follower of Hieronymus Bosch · Musée Ducastel-Vera, Saint-Germain-en-Laye · 872.1.87 Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Cure of Folly / Extraction of the Stone of Madness | 1501–1505 (Prado) | Oil on oak · Bosch (Prado); workshop/follower disputed · Prado P002056 Object source. |
| The Entombment Drawing | About 1505–1515, current museum record | Brush and black and grey ink, with grey wash, over black chalk · Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch; drawn by the Master of the Prado Haywain Triptych; Hieronymus Bosch, argued by the BRCP in 2016 · British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, London · 1952,0405.9 Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Gathering of the Birds | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; pen and brown ink · Berlin KdZ 13136 2016 catalogue. |
| The Haywain — Prado triptych | 1510–1516 (BRCP 2016) | Oil on oak · Bosch (BRCP 2016) · Prado; separate Escorial version exists 2016 catalogue. |
| The Hearing Forest and the Seeing Field | Circa 1500–1505 | Pen and brown ink on paper · Hieronymus Bosch; reverse: Bosch and workshop · Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · KdZ 549, front and reverse Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Owl’s Nest — Rotterdam | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch; pen and brown ink · Boijmans N 175 2016 catalogue. |
| The Passion Triptych in Valencia | Workshop of Bosch, about 1510–1520; Follower of Bosch; centre about 1530–1540, wings about 1540–1550 | Oil and gold on oak panels · Workshop of Bosch, about 1510–1520; Follower of Bosch; centre about 1530–1540, wings about 1540–1550 · Museu de Belles Arts de València Source 1. Source 2. |
| The Pedlar / Wayfarer — Rotterdam | c.1500 (museum) | Oil on panel · Bosch · Boijmans 1079 (OK); rejoined exterior Object source. |
| The Tree-Man — Vienna drawing | c.1505 | Pen and brown ink · Bosch · Albertina, Vienna Object source. |
| The Wedding at Cana, After Hieronymus Bosch | Approximately 1560 in the current museum record | Oil on panel, 93 cm high × 72 cm wide · Anonymous, after Hieronymus Bosch · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, St 25 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Two Fantastical Creatures — Berlin KdZ 550 | Around 1505–1515 in the museum’s 2016 exhibition text | Pen in brown ink on reddish prepared laid paper · Hieronymus Bosch · Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · KdZ 550, recto and verso Source 1. Source 2. |
| Two Figures Wearing Mitres | About 1480 | Oil on panel · Anonymous (Boijmans); Bosch circle (RKD) · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam · 1177 (OK) Source 1. Source 2. |
| Two Men and the Temptation of Eve | About 1505–1515 in the Prado’s 2016 exhibition guide | Pen and grey-brown ink on paper · Hieronymus Bosch in the 2016 catalogues discussed here · Private collection, as recorded in 2016 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Two Men Fighting | Not specified in the current Louvre record | Pen and brown ink · In the manner of Hieronymus Bosch · Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, Paris · INV 20660 recto; formerly NIII 8896 and MA 8400 Source 1. Source 2. |
| Two Men — Berlin KdZ 5210 | Not specified in catalogue heading | 2016 catalogue: Bosch questioned · Pen, brush, ink, chalk and white highlights · Berlin KdZ 5210; historical title Two Oriental Men 2016 catalogue. |
| Two Monsters — Berlin KdZ 547 | Approximately 1500–1510 in Berlin's 2016 exhibition catalogue; an estimated range | Pen and brown ink on paper · Hieronymus Bosch · Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · KdZ 547, drawn on both sides Source 1. Source 2. |
Frequently Asked Questions
It belongs to the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, inventory WRM 0474. The current city record calls it The Birth of Christ.[1]
The current city collection record gives 105.5 × 84.2 cm, oil on oak panel.[1]
No. The Rijksmuseum’s wider Nativity, SK-A-4131, is a separate version. Its composition and details can be compared with Cologne without transferring measurements or technical findings between them.[5]
Discussion
Look at the child, the adults’ differing gestures and the observer behind the curtain.
Reader Insights
How does placing the infant so close to the lower edge change your position as a viewer?
Compare Mary’s joined hands with Joseph’s bent posture.
What does the man behind the curtain add to the crowded foreground?
Join the Conversation
Share a detail, comparison or question about Adoration of the Child in Cologne: A Nativity after Bosch below.
References
- Kulturelles Erbe Köln: The Birth of Christ, WRM 0474, current city collection record, metadata, provenance and commentary View source.
- BRCP Catalogue Raisonné (2016), object dates in catalogues 1, 2, 8, 15 and 20; catalogue 20 object metadata only for the Haywain comparison. View source
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2016 exhibition wall texts, p. 3: approximate date of KdZ 549. View source
- Jheronimus Bosch Art Center: Adoration of the Child, Cologne version, discussion of attribution and iconography View source.
- Rijksmuseum, J. Bogers: The Nativity, SK-A-4131, collection catalogue entry and comparison with Cologne View source.
- Bosch Research and Conservation Project, Technical Studies (2016), Appendix I, pp. 454, 457–458: method and Cologne inventory 474, available through SRAL View source.
- Wallraf-Richartz-Museum: 2017 Honthorst exhibition objects, caption for The Birth of Christ after Bosch View source.
- Carl Justi, Die Werke des Hieronymus Bosch in Spanien (1889), pp. 127–128: historical discussion of the Cologne Nativity View source.
- Splash image, Imitator of Hieronymus Bosch, The Birth of Christ (Adoration of the Child), second half of the sixteenth century, oil on oak panel, 105.5 × 84.2 cm, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, Cologne, WRM 0474. View source.
