“Extraction of the stone of stupidity” – a picture attributed to the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch.
This picture represents a folklore line in the artist’s work. At first glance, it shows an ordinary, indeed, dangerous operation, which the surgeon somehow holds in the open air, hoisting a funnel on his head. Probably, the character of the fairy farce is ridiculed here – a simpleton or a cuckold husband.
The inverted funnel, put on the head of the surgeon, was explained as a hint of the absent-mindedness of the learned husband, but in the context of the farce, it most likely serves as a sign of deception. According to another version, the closed book on the nun’s head and the funnel of the surgeon, respectively, symbolize that knowledge is useless when dealing with stupidity. and that healing of this kind is charlatanry.
The Dutch expression “to have a stone in your head” meant “to be stupid, insane, with your head out of place.” The plot of removing the “stone of stupidity” can be traced in Dutch engravings, painting and literature until the 17th century. Ornamental inscription at the top and bottom says: “Master, remove the stone. My name is Lubbert Das.”
In the time of Bosch, there was a belief: a madman can be healed if you take stupid stones from his head. Lubbert – a common noun, denoting the mentally retarded. In the picture, contrary to expectations, not a stone is extracted, but a flower, another flower lies on the table. It is established that these are tulips. and in medieval symbolism, the tulip implied stupid credulity.
In the authorship of Bosch one could doubt, if not for the characteristic landscape in the background.
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