Temptation of Saint Anthony in visual arts

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Matthias Grunewald, inner right wing of the Isenheim Altarpiece depicting the Temptation of St. Anthony, 1512-1516 (oil on panel) Matthias Grunewald - The Temptation of St Anthony - WGA10765.jpg
Matthias Grünewald, inner right wing of the Isenheim Altarpiece depicting the Temptation of St. Anthony, 1512-1516 (oil on panel)

The Temptation of Saint Anthony is an often-repeated subject in the history of art and literature, concerning the supernatural temptation reportedly faced by Saint Anthony the Great during his sojourn in the Egyptian desert. Anthony's temptation is first discussed by Athanasius of Alexandria, Anthony's contemporary, and from then became a popular theme in Western culture.

Contents

The common medieval subject, included in the Golden Legend 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 composition (copied by Michelangelo) probably shows a later episode where St Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by angels, was ambushed and attacked in mid-air by devils. [1] Anasthasius describes another episode where the saint was attacked on the ground.

History

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1487-88, by the young Michelangelo, copying Martin Schongauer's engraving Michelangelo Buonarroti - The Torment of Saint Anthony - Google Art Project.jpg
The Temptation of Saint Anthony , 1487–88, by the young Michelangelo, copying Martin Schongauer's engraving

The earliest work to depict Saint Anthony being assaulted by demons is a wall painting in the atrium of Santa Maria Antiqua of the 10th century. [2] 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 (ca. 1505) and Matthias Grünewald (1512–1516).

In the modern era the theme has been treated by the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí and the French author Gustave Flaubert, who considered his 1874 book The Temptation of Saint Anthony to be his masterwork. Flaubert's contemporary Odilon Redon 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.

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

The Temptation of St. Anthony, by Joos van Craesbeeck, c. 1650, clearly recalling the Bosch treatments. Joos van Craesbeeck -The Temptation of St Anthony.jpg
The Temptation of St. Anthony , by Joos van Craesbeeck, c. 1650, clearly recalling the Bosch treatments.

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Anthony the Great was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hieronymus Bosch</span> Dutch painter (c. 1450–1516)

Hieronymus Bosch 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 oak wood, mainly contains fantastic illustrations of religious concepts and narratives. Within his lifetime his work was collected in the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain, and widely copied, especially his macabre and nightmarish depictions of hell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthias Grünewald</span> German Renaissance painter (c.1470-1528)

Matthias Grünewald 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 as Mathis and his surname as Gothart or Neithardt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renaissance art</span> Visual arts produced during the European Renaissance

Renaissance art is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occurred in philosophy, literature, music, science, and technology. Renaissance art took as its foundation the art of Classical antiquity, perceived as the noblest of ancient traditions, but transformed that tradition by absorbing recent developments in the art of Northern Europe and by applying contemporary scientific knowledge. Along with Renaissance humanist philosophy, it spread throughout Europe, affecting both artists and their patrons with the development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities. For art historians, Renaissance art marks the transition of Europe from the medieval period to the Early Modern age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Schongauer</span> German artist (c. 1452–1491)

Martin Schongauer, also known as Martin Schön or Hübsch Martin by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important printmaker north of the Alps before Albrecht Dürer, a younger artist who collected his work. Schongauer is the first German painter to be a significant engraver, although he seems to have had the family background and training in goldsmithing which was usual for early engravers.

<i>The Garden of Earthly Delights</i> Triptych painting by Hieronymus Bosch

The Garden of Earthly Delights is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. It has been housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain since 1939.

<i>The Temptation of Saint Anthony</i> (novel) Book by Gustave Flaubert

The Temptation of Saint Anthony is a dramatic poem in prose by the French author Gustave Flaubert published in 1874. Flaubert spent his whole adult life working fitfully on the book.

<i>The Hermit Saints</i> Triptych by Hieronymus Bosch

The Hermit Saints is a religious oil on panel painting displayed as a triptych, meaning it is one whole painting composed of three separate scenes. This artwork was made by the Renaissance artist Hieronymus Bosch, dating from 1493. The entirety of the triptych painting measures 86 by 60 centimetres. This artwork is currently being housed at the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice.

<i>The Temptation of St Anthony</i> (Bosch) Painting by Hieronymus Bosch or by a follower

The Temptation of St. Anthony is a painting of disputed authorship, attributed to either Hieronymus Bosch or a follower. It is now in the Museo del Prado, in Madrid.

Events from the year 1516 in art.

<i>The Torment of Saint Anthony</i> 1480s painting by Michelangelo

The Torment of Saint Anthony is attributed to Michelangelo, who painted a close copy of the famous engraving by Martin Schongauer when he was only 12 or 13 years old. Whether the painting is actually by Michelangelo is disputed. This painting is now in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. It shows the common medieval subject, included in the Golden Legend and other sources, of Saint Anthony being assailed in the desert by demons, whose temptations he resisted; the Temptation of St Anthony is the more common name of the subject. But this composition apparently shows a later episode where St Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by angels, was ambushed in mid-air by devils.

<i>The Temptation of St. Anthony</i> (Dalí) Painting by Salvador Dalí

The Temptation of St. Anthony is a painting by Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Painted in 1946, it is a precursor to the body of Dalí's work commonly known as the "classical period" or the "Dalí Renaissance".

<i>Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony</i> 1501 painting by Hieronymus Bosch

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, one of the most prominent of the Desert Fathers of Egypt in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. The Temptation of St. Anthony was a popular subject in Medieval and Renaissance art. In common with many of Bosch's works, the triptych contains much fantastic imagery. The painting hangs in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon.

<i>The Temptation of St Anthony</i> (Schongauer) Engraving by Martin Schongauer

The Temptation of St. Anthony is an engraving, probably created c. 1470–75, by Martin Schongauer of this popular scene in 15th-century art. In it, grotesque demons swarm around Saint Anthony the Great, bursting with movement and energy as the saint calmly resists their temptations or blows. St. Anthony is shown with some of his signature attributes, dressed in a monk's religious habit and cowl, carrying a staff with a tau-shaped handle and his bound girdle book hanging from his belt. The literary source from which this image derives is debated. The image could depict chapter 65 from Athanasius's Life of St. Anthony, where the hermit has a vision of himself floating through the air and undefined beings prevent him from ascending back to reality or it could show the ninth chapter of Athanasius's Life of St. Anthony, where St. Anthony is attacked by the devil in the form of animals and beasts in the Egyptian desert and is levitated in the air by his practice of rigorous asceticism.

Jheronimus Bosch—Visions of Genius was a 2016 art exhibition at the Noordbrabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, about the work of Hieronymus Bosch, a native of 's-Hertogenbosch.

<i>The Temptation of Saint Anthony</i> (Ernst painting) Painting by Max Ernst

The Temptation of Saint Anthony is a 1945 painting by the German artist Max Ernst. It depicts the desert father Anthony the Great as he is tormented by demons in Egypt. The painting is located at the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, Germany.

<i>Pietà</i> (Annibale Carracci) Painting by Annibale Carracci in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples

Pietà is a c. 1600 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, the earliest surviving work by him on the subject, which was commissioned by Odoardo Farnese. It moved from Rome to Parma to Naples as part of the Farnese collection and is now in the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples. It is one of many 16th century Bolognese paintings dedicated to the theme of the Pietà, and it is counted among Carracci's masterpieces.

<i>The Temptation of St. Anthony</i> (Joos van Craesbeeck)

The Temptation of Saint Anthony is a (circa) 1650 painting by the Flemish artist Joos van Craesbeeck.

<i>Christ Appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot</i> Painting by Annibale Carracci

Christ Appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot or The Temptation of Saint Anthony is a 1598-1600 oil on copper painting of Anthony the Great by Annibale Carracci. It was acquired in the 19th century by an English collector and bought in 1846 by the National Gallery, London, where it still hangs.

References

  1. Alan Shestack; Fifteenth century Engravings of Northern Europe; no.37, 1967, National Gallery of Art, Washington(Catalogue), LOC 67-29080
  2. Jean Michel Massing (1984). "Schongauer's 'Tribulations of St Anthony': Its Iconography and Influence on German Art". Print Quarterly . 1 (4): 226. JSTOR   41823641.