The Pedlar

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• Lina de Graaf asked

  Hello,
  I'm an art history student and am currently looking into the purpose of animals in religious/moralistic art. Could you tell me anything about the animals depicted in this work and if they have a symbolic meaning. Is there any further reading you recommend about this subject.
  Thank you in advance!

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hello Lina,
  
  There is much to say about symbolism in Bosch’s work, particularly the symbolic meaning of animals: It is an entire field explored in numerous books. A good starting point is James Hall’s ‘Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art’. ‘The Pedlar’ symbolizes the journey of human life, marked by temptations and moral decisions. Bosch conveys this through powerful imagery, including animals that carry layered meanings:
  
  - Magpie: Its black-and-white plumage represents the Final Judgment—heaven or hell. The bird stands at the threshold between life and death, symbolizing the ultimate outcome of the pedlar’s path.
  - Dog: A nod to the saying “barking dogs don’t bite,” it represents empty threats or harmless warnings.
  - Pigs: Referencing the proverb “too many pigs make the slop thin,” they embody overindulgence, greed, and wastefulness.
  - Birds and birdcage: Common symbols of sexual temptation and spiritual entrapment.
  
  These animals weren’t chosen at random: Bosch drew on familiar folk symbols to communicate moral teachings in a visual language accessible to an illiterate audience. The pedlar’s decision to follow the narrow path, turning away from sin, reflects Bosch’s core message: that through righteous living, one can shape their own destiny. I hope this helps guide your research in a fruitful direction.
  
  Kind regards,
  Manus

• Róża asked

  How did the Pedlar come to be such a popular artwork?

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hello Róza, thanks for your interesting question. There are many factors influencing the reception of an artwork and it would ask quite some research to unravel this part of The Pedlar's history. One factor might be the re-discovery of Hieronymus Bosch, in the second half of the nineteenth century, as one of the greatest artists of the late Middle Ages. As you might know he was very famous during his lifetime and the sixteenth century, but thereafter he tended to be forgotten. Another factor, which counts for all of his works and also for this one, is the enigmatic quality of the image. There is much to see but it is not completely clear what is meant, so multiple interpretations are possible. We can keep looking at- and stay talking about the painting, giving it meaning and relating the possible wanderings of the pedlar to our own lifes – as if Bosch did not paint him 500 year ago, but just yesterday. Personally, I am moved by the idea to be connected to other human beings who lived so long ago, and apparently I am not the only one. Kind regards, Els

• Sydney Sheehan asked

  Hello!
  I am writing an article featuring Jheronimus Bosch's Pedlar and I was hoping you might be able to share the provenance with me?
  best,
  Sydney Sheehan

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Sydney, The Pedlar was acquired by the museum in 1931 with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt and several private art lovers (D.G. Van Beuningen, F.W. Koenigs and J.P. van der Schilden. The panel was bought from art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. He acquired it from Paul Cassirer. Two previous owners are known: Albert Figdor (Baden 1843-Vienna 1927) and Théodor Schiff. I assume that you know that the painting was assembled from the outside wings of a triptych. We do not know the middle panel, but the inside wings have been cut to three separate paintings: 1) the Ship of Fools at the Louvre, 2) the Allegory of Gluttony and Lust at Yale University Art Gallery and 3) Death and the Miser at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Good luck with your paper and kind regards, Els

• Silvia asked

  Hello
  I'm writting an article and I would like to use the painting "The Pedlar" of Jheronimus Bosch. Do I need to ask about the copyright?
  Thank you very much
  Kind regards,
  Silvia

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Silvia, best to read all about image requests on this webpage https://www.boijmans.nl/en/image-requests. All best, Lisa Heinis.

• Mark asked

  Hello
  
  I notice that there is the sign of the swan outside the tavern. Is the swam a reference to the brotherhood which Bosch belonged to? Is he criticising his brotherhood meeting house as a den of debauchery? Thank you.

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Mark, thanks for asking. In the Middle Ages a prostitute was called a 'swaentje' (Dutch for little swan), which would be the simple explanation for the sign at the inn. In the past however a few art historians had the same idea as you have now, that Bosch intended to be critical towards the religious brotherhood. There is an interesting article to be found at the internet by Th. van Baaren entitled: 'De betekenis van de zwaan in het werk van Jeroen Bosch' (The Meaning of the Swan in Hieronymus Bosch' Work). Unfortunately it is in Dutch, but it says that the brotherhood expected to be able to make use of Bosch's talents for free or for little money, but never gave him a real big assignment. Therefor Bosch, who probably did not belong to the inner circle, was rather critical. I hope this is helpful. Kind regards, Els.

• Sankalp asked

  I have a different interpretation. If the pedlar is so prepared with his bag, spoon, dagger, purse etc then why are his shoes mis-matched ? This makes me think that we could have left in a hurry. Though it was a pre-meditated move to go away. That makes me believe that the house in the background is his own. Its very early in the morning indicated by the owl in the tree (night bird) and maybe by the pigs feeding. Also the old man peeing beside the house could indicate early morning. The man might have wanted to sneak out of the house without a sound but something went wrong. The family/housemates got alerted. One of them barely got time to come till the door and just peaking form the window. The boy stopping the girl (possibly the son stopping the mother) from trying to stop the man. The man might have packed everything the last night but in the last moment, in a hurry he just wore any shoes he could find and left. Possibly he is running form his responsibilities (broken house, dysfunctional family). Maybe he is cause of all misery that the son feels its better that he goes away. The emotional mother irrespective of all things would still want her man to be with her.
  
  Open to criticism. Please find inconsistencies to rule out this interpretation.
  
  PS: This is my favourite piece of art !

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Dear Sankalp,
  Nice to hear that you like this artwork so much. Thank you for sharing your interpretation with us. Technical research tells us that the painting originally covered the exterior of the wings of a triptych. It looks very similar to the exterior of the Haywain-Triptych. This is why scholars think it has also a similar iconography. Many scholars have written about the interpretation of paintings of Jheronimus Bosch. You can find literature about this subject in our library. You can also watch this movie about the interpretation of this painting: https://www.arttube.nl/videos/de-marskramer-in-close-up.
  Kind regards,
  Esther

• Mira asked

  Hi there, is this painting also known as 'The Wayfarer'?

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Mia,
  Yes, it is! The painting has several titles, but 'The Pedlar' is the one currently used by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
  Best wishes,
  Jephta
  

• Bettina Semoff asked

  Hello,
  after my litterary researches (according to Stefan Fischer, who wrote in German a Monographie about Bosch, 2016) the middle panel was the 'marriage of kana' , also by H.Bosch. Could this be possible? Thanks, yours B.S., Munich-Germany

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Dear Bettina,
  Indeed, some scholars believe that ‘the Pedlar’ was part of a larger whole that included ‘the Marriage of Kana’. This idea was first brought to the fore by Johannes Hartau in an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2001. Hartau later expanded his argument in the article 'Das neue Triptychon von Hieronymus Bosch als Allegorie über den unnützen Reichtum', in Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 68 (2005), pp. 305-338. Our curator of old Paintings and Sculptures Friso Lammertse is, however, not convinced by this interpretation.
  ‘The Marriage of Kana’ painting that is referred to is not the painting with the same name in the collection of Boijmans van Beuningen, which is a copy executed after Bosch’ death, presumably after a lost original.
  Kind regards,
  Jephta

• Jane asked

  What does the skinned cat hanging on the wicker basket mean?

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Jane, thanks for your question! As with all the objects in this painting, we suspect certain symbolic meanings, but we can never be completely sure. The skinned cat could stand for women of easy virtue (the man being the cat hunter / womanizer) but pedlars are also known to sell cat skins, so it could also simply be attributed to the main subject being a pedlar. Best, Rianne

• Yang asked

  I've heard that this work was once exterior panels for a triptych with wings known as 'Ship of Fools' and 'Death and Miser' in the past. Is it an official conclusion of scientific analysis?

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Dear Yang, yes this is true. We know that the inside of the left panel showed the now seperated 'Ship of Fools' (Louvre, Paris) and 'Allegory of Intemperance' (Yale University), and the inside of the right panel showed 'Death and the Miser' (National Gallery of Art, Washington). On the back of these panels 'The Pedlar' was shown. What was depicted on the center panel is unknown but it is highly likely that this panel had a religious theme. Best, Rianne Schoonderbeek