Around 1450, Jheronimus van Aken is born in 's-Hertogenbosch, into a family of painters.
The young Jheronimus learns the painter's trade in the workshop of his father and family.
Bosch marries a wealthy woman from a patrician family, strengthening his social and financial position.
Bosch becomes a member of a prestigious religious brotherhood, expanding his reputation and network.
Bosch completes his most famous and most enigmatic triptych, full of fantastical creatures and surreal scenes.
Bosch paints another major work in which he combines demons, hybrid creatures and nightmarish visions with religious themes.
His fame reaches the highest circles of Europe; Philip the Handsome and later other noble collectors show interest in his work.
Bosch dies in his hometown of 's-Hertogenbosch and is buried in Saint John's Cathedral.
After his death, Bosch's compositions were frequently copied and imitated, among others by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and countless anonymous followers.
In the twentieth century, Bosch is rediscovered as a forerunner of surrealism and becomes the subject of intensive scholarly research.
During this period he masters the techniques of panel painting, woodcarving for altarpieces and the mixing of pigments, a traditional craft passed down from generation to generation within the Van Aken family. No early works by his hand have survived from these years, but the influence of the Flemish Primitives and local religious art is clearly reflected in his later style.