4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2016.

Temptation of Saint Anthony

ArtistStudio of Hieronymus Bosch (Netherlandish, ca. 1450-1516)

DateNo Date

MediumOil on panel

Dimensions16 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (41.9 x 26.7 cm)
Overall, Frame: 23 x 16 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. (58.4 x 41.3 x 7 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.483

Terms

Religion

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting of a seated Saint Anthony. Saint Anthony is dressed in a long covering gray robe and has a full beard. He holds out his right hand in blessing as he reads the open book before him in his left hand. There is a walking stick at his feet. Absorbed by his reading material, Saint Anthony does not acknowledge the activity that is happening behind and around him in the predominantly brown landscape. Over his left shoulder is a body of water from which two nude women emerge, one is half hidden behind a rock. Again to his left is a small figure reading a book, with what appears to be a bird beak. Another figure runs out of the frame with a roundish dark object or animal on his back.;

Label TextStudio of Hieronymus Bosch Flemish, ca. 1450–1516 Temptation of Saint Anthony Oil on wood Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.483 Follower of Hieronymus Bosch Flemish, ca. 1450–1516 Landscape with the Temptation of Saint Anthony, ca. 1515–20 Oil on canvas transferred to wood Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.482 The world is the devil’s workshop and only faith can help you resist it. This moralizing view of life dominated medieval thought, as reflected by these two paintings. Each landscape includes harrowing scenes: burning buildings, prancing demons, marauding armies, and naked temptresses. The prayerful Saint Anthony remains untouched in both paintings. Steadfast amid chaos and temptation, he serves to sustain faithful viewers in the face of their own spiritual challenges.