Matthias Grünewald - The Temptation of St Anthony - WGA10765

The Temptation of Saint Anthony is an often-repeated subject in the history of art and literature, concerning the supernatural

temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

reportedly faced by

Saint Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

during his sojourn in the Egyptian desert. Anthony's temptation is first discussed by

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

, Anthony's contemporary, and from then became a popular theme in Western culture. The common medieval subject, included in the ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...

'' and other sources, shows Saint Anthony being tempted or assailed in the desert by demons, whose temptations he resisted; the ''Temptation of St Anthony'' (or ''Trial...'') is the more common name of the subject. But strictly there are at least two different episodes deriving from Athanasius's ''Life of St. Anthony'' and later versions of the life that may be represented, though all usually have this name. The most common is the temptation, by seductive women and other demonic forms, but the

Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...

composition (copied by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

) probably shows a later episode where St Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

s, was ambushed and attacked in mid-air by

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

s. Anasthasius describes another episode where the saint was attacked on the ground.

History

Michelangelo Buonarroti - The Torment of Saint Anthony - Google Art Project

The earliest work to depict Saint Anthony being assaulted by demons is a

wall painting A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

in the atrium of

Santa Maria Antiqua Santa Maria Antiqua ( en, Ancient Church of Saint Mary) is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for a long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces. Located at the ...

of the 10th century. The subject became especially popular in the late European Middle Ages, from around 1450. The century following saw the most famous depictions in book illumination, prints and paintings. These include the depictions of Martin Schöngauer (ca. 1470),

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

(ca. 1505) and

Matthias Grünewald Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. His first name is also given ...

(1512–1516). In the modern era the theme has been treated by the Spanish painter

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

and the French author

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

, who considered his 1874 book '' The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' to be his masterwork. Flaubert's contemporary

Odilon Redon Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; ; 20 April 18406 July 1916) was a French Symbolism (arts), symbolist painter, printmaker, Drawing, draughtsman and pastellist. Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, he ...

was inspired by the 1874 interpretation to create three series of lithographs. The works have been compiled together in publications including a free eBook by

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

. In 1946 the David L. Loew-Albert Lewin film production company held a contest for a painting on the theme of Saint Anthony's Temptation, with the winner to be used in the film ''

The Private Affairs of Bel Ami ''The Private Affairs of Bel Ami'' is a 1947 American drama film directed by Albert Lewin. The film stars George Sanders as a ruthless cad who uses women to rise in Parisian society, co-starring Angela Lansbury and Ann Dvorak. It is based on the ...

''. Various artists produced paintings on this subject, and the contest was won by

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...

, whose work was duly shown in the film. However, the most well-known of these paintings is a failed contestant, Salvador Dalí's version.

Notable versions of the subject

Joos van Craesbeeck -The Temptation of St Anthony

*''

Saint Anthony Abbot Tempted by a Heap of Gold ''Saint Anthony Abbot Tempted by a Heap of Gold'' is a painting by the 15th-century Sienese painter known as the Master of the Osservanza, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Completed circa 1435 in tempera and gold on panel, it ...

'', Sienese, 15th century * ''The Temptation of St Anthony'', a widely circulated

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

* ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' (Michelangelo), a 15th-century painting by Michelangelo (his first), which was painted after the Schongauer engraving, in the Kimbell Museum in Ft. Worth. *''

Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony The ''Triptych of Temptation of St. Anthony'' is an oil painting on wood panels by the Early Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch, dating from around 1501. The work portrays the mental and spiritual torments endured by Saint Anthony the Great ( ...

'',

, c. 1501, in the

National Museum of Ancient Art The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, fu ...

in Lisbon. * ''The Temptation of St Anthony'' (Bosch painting), a 16th-century painting by Hieronymus Bosch or a follower, in the Prado Museum in Madrid. *'' The Temptation of St Anthony'', another Bosch version, in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Isenheim Altarpiece The ''Isenheim Altarpiece'' is an altarpiece sculpted and painted by, respectively, the Germans Nikolaus of Haguenau and Matthias Grünewald in 1512–1516. It is on display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, in France. It is Grünewal ...

(1512–1516) * ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'', a 1547 painting by

Pieter Huys Pieter Huys (c.1519 – c.1584) was a Flemish Renaissance painter. He is known of his early life, and though he was mostly active in Antwerp, his place of birth and death is not certain. He became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1545 ...

* ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' (Carracci), a 1598–1600 painting by

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

* ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'', a c. 1650 work by

David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile arti ...

* '' The Temptation of St. Anthony'', a 1650 painting by

Joos van Craesbeeck Joos van Craesbeeck (''c''. 1605/06 – ''c''. 1660) was a Flemish baker and a painter who played an important role in the development of Flemish genre art, genre painting in the mid-17th century through his tavern scenes and dissolute portraits. ...

* ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony'', several 17th-century paintings by Mattheus van Helmont *''The Temptation of St. Antonius'', an 1887 painting by Paul Cézanne * ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'', an 1897 painting by

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Se ...

* ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' (Ernst painting), a 1945 painting by Max Ernst * ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'' (Dalí), a 1946 painting by Salvador Dalí * ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'', 1942–5, a series of paintings by

Michael Ayrton Michael Ayrton (20 February 1921 – 16 November 1975)T. G. Rosenthal, "Ayrton , Michael (1921–1975)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008accessed 24 Jan 2015/ref> was a British arti ...

* ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'', a 1947 painting by

Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement of ...

* ''The Temptations of Saint Anthony / Las tentaciones de San Antonio'', a c. 1947 painting by

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

* ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony'', a fictional modern painting featured in Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel ''

Breakfast of Champions ''Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday'' is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. His seventh novel, it is set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Midl ...

'' * ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'', a 1645 print by

Jacques Callot Jacques Callot (; – 1635) was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine (an independent state on the north-eastern border of France, southwestern border of Germany and overlapping the southern Netherlands). He is an impo ...

References

External links

''The Temptation of Saint Anthony by Joos van Craesbeeck''
BBC Radio 4, Moving Pictures, 30 January 2018
Youtube link
{{commons category, Temptation of Saint Anthony Christian iconography