Is painter Hieronymus Bosch’s little piece of sheet music actually playable? Was the famous artist also a composer?

Not so long ago, the Content Team at My Sheet Music Transcriptions came across an interesting sheet music-related article from a few years ago in The Guardian.

We believe it’s one of those stories that never go out of style, so we’ve decided to share it! Here’s the story of Hieronymus Bosch’s only piece of sheet music.

Hieronymus Bosch’s “posterior” sheet music

Under the title “Hidden sheet music in Hieronymus Bosch triptych recorded by blogger,” the Guardian reported that someone had transcribed the sheet music found in the popular painting The Garden of Earthly Delights (ca. 1500).

If you are curious, you can find these few bars tattooed “upon the posterior of one of the many tortured denizens of the rightmost panel of the painting”.

On February 11th, 2014, Amelia Hamrick transcribed this melody into modern notation, “assuming the second line of the staff is C, as is common for chants of this era.” Afterward, she posted an audio file of the piano solo version on her Tumblr profile (@amelias.art).

A few hours later, many people had commented and shared the post: “I still can’t believe this took off like it did, this is crazy??? Just wanted to let people know that there are indeed errors in the transcription and this is indeed not a very good recording”.

The evolution of the story

As of today, there are many transcriptions and arrangements of this melody––and most of them can be found online. As expert transcribers and musicologists, we have been investigating the accuracy and musical potential of this little melody.

Here you have our favorite arrangements:

Paola Hermosín’s “Fantasy for Guitar”

Jim Spalink’s arrangement:

And last but lot least, this short choral version:

Final thoughts

Whether Bosch was low-key a composer or just messing around with musical graffiti, one thing’s clear: this bizarre little tune has sparked centuries-late fanfare. We didn’t know Renaissance art could double as sheet music!

Do you think Hieronymus Bosch wrote down an actual melody, or do you believe he just scribbled a few random notes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!