Otherworldly Journeys: The Fantastical Worlds of Bosch and Bruegel
Speed Art Museum, Louisville
October 17, 2025 — February 1, 2026
After Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish, about 1526/27–1569)
The Fall of the Magician Hermogenes, 1565
Engraving, 8 13/16 × 11 7/16 in.
Collection Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
From the estate of Dr. J.C.J. Bierens de Haan, inv. BdH 7580 (PK)
After Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish, about 1526/27–1569)
Big Fish Eat Little Fish, 1557
Engraving, 9 1/16 × 11 13/16 in.
Collection Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
From the estate of Dr. J.C.J. Bierens de Haan, inv. BdH 8007 (PK)
The Speed Art Museum presents Otherworldly Journeys: The Fantastical Worlds of Bosch and Bruegel, marking the first time that this exceptional exhibition has been displayed in the U.S. Drawn from the internationally renowned collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the exhibition features 85 rare engravings and etchings. The show offers a fascinating voyage into the most bizarre corners of art history, exploring the visionary and satirical works inspired by Renaissance masters Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Organized by Peter van der Coelen, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and locally curated by the Speed’s Curator of Works on Paper Kim Spence, Otherworldly Journeys spotlights 16th-century Netherlandish prints that broke from artistic convention through their focus on everyday people and the absurdities of human behavior Through the media of engraving and etching, these inventive designs reached a wider, urban audience of merchants, scholars, and artists across The Netherlands and beyond. In creating visual art that was satirical, moralizing, and widely accessible, Bosch and Bruegel provided the first modern lens through which the public could view themselves and their world.
“Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is one of the few museums in the world where the work of Bosch and Bruegel—and the Surrealists they later inspired—are so strongly represented. Otherworldly Journeys is the first exhibition devoted entirely to the prints inspired by Bosch and created by Bruegel and his contemporaries,” said Peter van der Coelen. “These works reveal the imagination and innovation that defined Netherlandish art in the 15th and 16th centuries. Bosch and Bruegel invented new imagery and shared ideas that traveled far beyond their studios, inviting us to see the world in new ways.”
After Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish, about 1526/27–1569)
Summer, 1570
Engraving, from the series The Four Seasons, 8 7/8 × 11 5/16 in.
Collection Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
From the estate of Dr. J.C.J. Bierens de Haan, inv. BdH 8017 (PK)
Though created 500 years ago, the themes in Otherworldly Journeys feel strikingly contemporary. These intimate prints invite guests to come close and explore every detail. Many images conceal tiny, humorous and even disturbing scenes that turn viewing into a visual treasure hunt through the artists’ imaginations. Teeming with peasants and demons, folly and faith, they transform everyday life, dreams, and nightmares into reflections on what it means to be human. In an age defined by memes and digital sharing, Otherworldly Journeys reminds us that the urge to tell stories through images—and to see ourselves reflected in them—is timeless.
“This exhibition is a celebration of two of the most creative artistic geniuses of the 16th century and a generation of printmakers they inspired,” said Kim Spence. “Hieronymus Bosch completely reimagined familiar subjects, populating them with fantastic creatures never seen before. His vision was so unique that demand for ‘Boschian’ art continued decades after his death. Pieter Bruegel, too, was equally innovative. He developed new genres—such as mountainous landscapes, seascapes, and depictions of everyday life—that laid the groundwork for artists of the Golden Age of Dutch art and later.”
A fully illustrated catalog written by Peter van der Coelen and published by The Speed Art Museum accompanies the exhibition.
SPEED ART MUSEUM
2035 South Third Street, Louisville, KY 40208
