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 Wedding at Cana: Introduction
A bride sits at the centre of a crowded wedding table while servants carry in elaborate dishes. Musicians occupy a gallery above, precious vessels fill a cabinet, and a child raises a large cup beside an ornate chair. At the right, Christ makes a quiet gesture. The biblical miracle is located among the preparations of a feast, with a servant bending over the water vessels in the foreground. [1]
This is The Wedding at Cana in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, inventory St 25. Long associated directly with Hieronymus Bosch, it is now catalogued as an anonymous painting after him, made around 1560. Its wooden support is too late for Bosch to have painted it. The museum considers it probably a copy of a lost original, making it an important but indirect witness to the imagery that circulated under his name. [1][2]
At a Glance
- MakerAnonymous, after Hieronymus Bosch. [1]
- TitleThe Wedding at Cana, also known as The Marriage Feast at Cana. [1]
- DateApproximately 1560 in the current museum record. [1]
- CollectionMuseum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, St 25. [1]
- Medium and sizeOil on panel, 93 cm high × 72 cm wide. [1]
- Collection creditLoan from Stichting Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, former Koenigs collection, 1940. [1]
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 [3]Crucifixion with a Donor
Circa 1490–1500 (BRCP) [3]Hermit Saints Triptych
Circa 1495–1505 [3]Saint Liberata Triptych
Circa 1495–1505 [3]The Hearing Forest and the Seeing Field
Circa 1500–1505 (Berlin exhibition) [4]The Haywain Triptych
1510–1516 (BRCP) [3]Contents
- Introduction
- Annotated Details
- The Wedding at Cana: Introduction
- Why It Is No Longer an Autograph Bosch
- The Miracle in John's Gospel
- A Table That Organizes the Room
- The Child, the Cup and the Chair
- Dishes, Music and Display
- How Far Can Symbolic Interpretation Go?
- A Related Drawing in the Louvre
- Another Painted Version at Huis Bergh
Annotated Details from The Wedding at Cana, After Bosch
Two larger views bring the guests and the foreground vessels into focus. This Rotterdam painting is a later work after Bosch, as the article explains.
Details from THE WEDDING AT CANA, AFTER BOSCH
The available source supports these broad details; the crops retain their native resolution.
Guests at the table
The seated guests gather around the long white cloth. Christ’s raised hand, the faces beside him and the objects on the table become easier to distinguish at this scale.
Vessels in the foreground
A bent figure attends to the vessels below the table. This lower scene occupies a separate zone from the seated company.
Image and detail crops: Wikimedia Commons source file (public domain reproduction).
Why It Is No Longer an Autograph Bosch
The changed attribution rests on more than a preference about painting style. The museum explains that tree-ring research established that the wood could not have been harvested before 1544, twenty-eight years after Bosch's death in 1516. Its Dutch account allows further time for the wood to become usable and places the earliest possible painting around 1555. The current object record's estimate of about 1560 is consistent with a work produced in the following generation. [2][5]
These dates describe different kinds of evidence. A limit derived from timber does not identify the precise year when paint was applied. Nor does it tell us exactly when the design was first invented. It does establish that the surviving Rotterdam panel cannot be the object Bosch painted. Any discussion of a lost Bosch composition must therefore distinguish that proposed earlier design from this materially later painting. [2][5]
The phrase after Bosch preserves that distinction. It connects the composition with his inventions without assigning its execution to his hand. The maker remains anonymous in the museum's record. Calling the painting a copy also does not establish that every object, expression or small ornament reproduces an original with perfect fidelity. Its relationship to other versions needs to be examined rather than assumed. [1][2]
The Miracle in John's Gospel
The subject comes from John 2:1–11. At a wedding in Cana, the wine runs short. Jesus' mother alerts him and tells the servants to follow his instructions. He orders six stone water jars associated with ritual washing to be filled, then has some of their contents taken to the person overseeing the feast. The liquid has become wine, although that official does not know its source. John presents the event as the beginning of Jesus' signs. [6]
The painting distributes this narrative across the room. Christ remains seated at the table, while the practical work takes place below and in front of him. The leaning servant gives the miracle a physical point of entry: a container is tipped, liquid passes between vessels, and the surrounding guests continue to occupy the feast. The supernatural transformation is not represented by a burst of light. It is embedded in an action that could initially look like ordinary service. [1][6]
This makes the spectator's knowledge important. Someone familiar with the Gospel can recognize the significance of the jars before every painted guest appears to do so. The narrative itself distinguishes the servants' knowledge from the headwaiter's ignorance. The picture offers a comparable opportunity to look past the prominent bride and impressive dishes towards an event whose importance exceeds its visual scale. [6]
A Table That Organizes the Room
The white tablecloth forms a broad angle. Guests sit along the back and down the right-hand side, while figures seen from behind occupy the near edge. This arrangement turns the table into a boundary between the viewer and the principal diners, but leaves openings through which attention can move. Its pale surface links faces, hands, small pieces of food and differently shaped drinking vessels across an otherwise divided interior. [1]
The bride is almost frontal, with her pale clothing and long hair giving her a distinct silhouette. Nearby guests lean, converse or turn their heads. Christ occupies the right-hand section, his raised hand separated clearly from the darker clothing behind it. The composition consequently has more than one centre: the bride anchors the wedding, while Christ gives the feast its biblical meaning. Neither needs to dominate the picture through size alone. [1]
The figures nearest the viewer complicate that ordering. Two seated people at the left lean close together, their dark and red garments making a substantial foreground mass. A smaller attendant stands near the angle of the table on the right. Their bodies partially interrupt access to the diners beyond. The viewer encounters a social gathering with separate conversations and tasks, rather than a row of people all responding to one command. [1]
The Child, the Cup and the Chair
A small figure near the centre raises a large cup. Behind it stands an unusually elaborate chair, with a decorated back resembling a miniature architectural frame. The disproportion between the child's size and the impressive vessel draws attention to the gesture. It interrupts the lower edge of the tablecloth and introduces another vertical form between the seated guests and the vessels on the floor. [1]
The museum's interpretation suggests a Eucharistic association: the transformation of water into wine can be placed alongside Christian reflection on sacramental wine. This gives the cup a possible significance beyond its role at a banquet. The proposal should remain distinct from a secure identification of the child or the small figures decorating the chair. Their presence invites attention, but the surviving painting does not supply names for all of them. [1]
The comparison also changes how one looks at scale. The cup need not be a minor still-life object simply because the figure carrying it is small. Its position allows the viewer to connect a foreground ceremony with Christ's gesture farther back. The painter makes these connections available through placement, without providing a written explanation that would settle every association. [1]
Dishes, Music and Display
At the upper left, servants carry a swan and a boar's head into the room. Their elevated dishes create a second, smaller procession above the seated guests. The white bird is particularly conspicuous against the dark recess. Nearby, the lifted animal head gives the service of food an extravagant, almost theatrical character. The picture presents a banquet designed to be looked at as well as consumed. [1]
The musicians above extend that display into another register. They occupy a raised space, separated from the meal by the ledge beneath them. Their instruments and animated poses contrast with the controlled arrangement of cups and dishes on the table. This upper area provides the feast with an implied sound, although the painting gives no basis for identifying a particular tune. [1]
The room's centre contains a further spectacle: a tall buffet under an architectural vault. Vessels stand on its shelves, with light catching selected surfaces. A figure appears at its side, partly enclosed by the architecture. Looking from the food procession to the cabinet and then to the rich hanging behind Christ, the eye discovers different forms of abundance. Space itself seems furnished for ceremony, while the actual miracle remains tied to the relatively humble vessels below. [1]
How Far Can Symbolic Interpretation Go?
The crowded objects have encouraged sharply different readings. Johannes Hartau, in a 2005 study, connected features of the banquet with Christian ideas about Judaism, conversion and religious difference. He also proposed that a lost version of this composition might have occupied the centre of a reconstructed Bosch triptych. Both are interpretive arguments, not facts established by the Rotterdam panel's date or present museum attribution. [7]
Hartau's discussion makes the history of religious polemic relevant, but it does not justify identifying every unusual face, headdress or crescent-shaped ornament as the same religious sign. Such readings concern representations and prejudices within Christian imagery; they are not descriptions of Jewish character or conduct. The painting's uncertain transmission adds another difficulty, because the relationship between its small details and those of a lost model cannot always be established. [7]
A useful way into the painting is therefore to distinguish levels of certainty. The wedding, Christ and the water vessels establish the biblical subject. The child and cup support a possible sacramental association. More extensive explanations that name individual guests, reconstruct an original patron or assign a single meaning to every ornament require additional evidence. Preserving that distinction allows the picture to remain complex without treating speculation as a solution. [1][6][7]
A Related Drawing in the Louvre
A pen drawing in the Louvre, inventory 163 DR recto, preserves a closely related banquet arrangement. It is a separate object with its own attribution history. The museum's headline record names Bosch and gives a date around 1475–1480, but its commentary also records Fritz Koreny's view that it is a later follower's ricordo, made around 1550–1570 after an older painting. The disagreement should not disappear when the drawing is used as evidence. [8]
Its value is comparative. The central wedding group, angled table and foreground service can be considered alongside the painted versions. Yet a related drawing is not automatically a preparatory sketch made before all the paintings. It might record an earlier design rather than originate it. The Louvre's own presentation of competing positions makes it especially important to distinguish a shared composition from an agreed sequence of execution. [8]
Another Painted Version at Huis Bergh
Huis Bergh Castle in 's-Heerenberg owns another Wedding at Cana, inventory 58. Its current collection entry identifies a follower of Bosch, gives a date around 1550 and records an oak panel measuring 95 × 74 cm. The same entry describes an angled table, a centrally placed bride, Christ at the right, servants with the swan and boar's head, and musicians above. These recurring elements establish a recognizable family of images. [9]
The Huis Bergh painting should not be used interchangeably with Rotterdam St 25. They have different inventory numbers, measurements and museum histories. Their resemblance strengthens the case that the composition circulated, but does not by itself reveal which surviving version came first or how directly either one depends on a lost Bosch painting. A comparison can preserve likeness and difference at the same time. [2][9]
The Surviving Rotterdam Painting
The present support has a conspicuously shaped upper outline, with stepped changes near the corners. That physical boundary is another reason to look at the whole object, rather than only a rectangular detail of its central banquet. The figures, architectural openings and textiles now meet an irregular perimeter. The appearance of the painting therefore includes the history of its support as well as the composition represented on it. [1]
Its collection credit records a 1940 loan from the foundation associated with the former Koenigs collection. This securely identifies the museum object without recovering an original commission or the complete history of its supposed model. Questions of copying and attribution belong alongside the close looking, as they do throughout the study of Bosch's workshop and later followers. [1][2]
The painting remains rewarding when its later date is made clear. Its banquet joins ceremony, appetite, conversation and an almost unobtrusive miracle within one room. The viewer can follow the white tablecloth across the guests, notice the raised cup and elaborate dishes, and then return to the servant pouring below. That movement between public display and quiet transformation gives this anonymous painting after Bosch a purpose beyond standing in for the lost original it may record. [1][2][6]
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
The subject is the wedding in John 2:1–11, where Jesus turns water into wine after the supply runs short.[6]
It belongs to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, inventory St 25. The current record gives oil on panel, 93 × 72 cm, and a 1940 foundation loan from the former Koenigs collection.[1]
Discussion
Compare the feast’s display with the quiet miracle and the evidence for a painting made after Bosch.
Reader Insights
How does the long table connect the richly dressed guests with Christ’s quieter gesture?
Which object most strongly competes with the miracle for your attention?
What changes when you read this as a later copy of a proposed lost composition?
Join the Conversation
Share a detail, comparison or question about The Wedding at Cana, After Hieronymus Bosch below.
References
- Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, The Wedding at Cana, St 25, current collection record and museum commentary. View source.
- Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Jheronimus Bosch, artist profile, discussion of the Rotterdam Wedding at Cana. 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
- Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Jheronimus Bosch — de duivelmaker, discussion of tree-ring evidence and dating. View source.
- Gospel of John 2:1–11, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. View source.
- Johannes Hartau, “Bosch and the Jews,” Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas 27, no. 86 (2005), especially the Cana discussion, pp. 44–53. View source.
- Musée du Louvre, Les Noces de Cana, 163 DR recto, current collection record and attribution commentary. View source.
- Huis Bergh, The Wedding at Cana, inventory 58, collection entry. View source.
- Splash image, Anonymous artist after Hieronymus Bosch, The Wedding at Cana, about 1560, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, St25. View source.
