Many works of art have been inspired by stories that allude to the Old Testament such as The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, Adam and Eve by Titian, and The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by John Martin, to mention a few. All of them reaffirm that the relationship between art and religion is inseparable. Among these mentions, there is a unique passage that has inspired the greatest and most iconic artists in history: the Temptation of Saint Anthony.
St. Anthony, also known as Anthon Abbot (251-356 A.D.), was an Egyptian Christian-Catholic monk famous for enduring temptations provoked by Satan. His story became a source of inspiration in the world of art, especially painting, as it has been masterfully depicted in works by artists such as Salvador Dali, Bosch, Félicien Rops, and Salvator Rosa.
Who was Saint Anthony
When Anthon Abbot reached the age of twenty, he sold all his property, gave all his money to the poor, and retired to live in a local community where he slept in a cave to lead a hermit’s life.
He spent many years helping others before finally turning his spiritual life around and entering the desert of Egypt, where in absolute solitude he was tempted by the devil.
These temptations consist of lust, power, and wealth. These tormenting moments are described in The Life of St. Anthony by Athanasius of Alexandria (4th century).
The demon tried to lure him away from his penance by whispering to him memories of his wealth, affection for his sister, love of money and glory, the pleasures of the table, and the comforts of life. One night, the demon took the form of a woman to seduce him. The place was suddenly filled with the shapes of lions, bears, leopards, scorpions, wolves, bulls, and vipers, and each of these animals moved according to its nature… All the noises of those apparitions, with their rabid shrieks, instilled terror.
Demons know how to do everything; they confuse, they pretend to be innocent to deceive, they laugh like madmen, and whistle, but if you do not pay attention to them they cry and wail in defeat. St. Anthony, realizing that it was an illusion said: ‘if you have received power against me, I am willing to let myself be devoured, but if you have been sent against me by demons, go away because I am a servant of Christ.’ Anthony maintained that these words drove the beasts away.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony in art
Hieronymus Bosch – Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony (1490)
Hieronymus depicts an Anthony focused on his thoughts. Among the solitude of nature, in a more open space, a pig with a bell at his feet in his ear rests unaware that the devil is about to strike him. Another original feature of these Temptations is that the artist does not show the demons attacking the monk.
On the contrary, they appear scattered as if they were organizing to do so, hiding behind hills or various objects such as a shield and a ladder.
Félicien Rops – La Tentation de saint Antoine (1878)
Félicien Rops was a Belgian painter and engraver known as the master of grotesque and provocation. In this version, Rops replaces the classic crucified Christ image with a naked young woman, while the heads of the angels are transformed into skulls.
The figure of the saint rejects the temptations offered to him, while St. Anthony abruptly abandons his concentration and reading. Behind the cross, and wrapped in his red cloak that covers his horns, a devil sticks out his tongue waiting for the outcome; the pig that rests its front legs symbolizes lust.
In this work, Rops ridicules the Catholic Church’s fight for abstinence and the sexual morality of the bourgeoisie.
Salvator Rosa – La Tentazione di Sant’Antonio (1645)
An Italian artist described as ‘an eternal rebel,’ Rosa’s paintings depict dramatic landscapes and wild scenes amid heavy storms inhabited by witches. He had a penchant for painting monstrous beings.
In his dark version of The Temptations of St. Anthony, Salvator Rosa shows a demonic figure tormenting St. Anthony, while he defends himself with the cross he holds in his hand. Below the saint, we can see a skull and a book, a symbol of having reached another world through meditation.
Regarding the demonic figure, it is a specter that is a mixture of animal parts, as we can see in its skeleton, which are of a bird, the tusks of a wild boar, a snake neck, breasts, and penis.
These creatures were common to illustrate demons and anticipated the surrealism of Dalí, who would later be inspired by them.
Salvador Dalí – La tentación de San Antonio (1946)
This scene would be interpreted by various artists, such as Salvador Dalí. In a Dalinian desert, St. Anthony kneels naked and protects himself with a cross before the parade of temptations that come to him. A horse, elephants with spider legs inspired by the sculpture of the Italian Bernini, naked women, and castles that signify vanity and greed; all represent earthly pleasures.
In this painting appears all of Dalí’s classic period: eroticism, spirituality, mysticism, science, and timelessness; a period in which the Spanish painter united two great themes: religion and science, and undoubtedly reflects his obsession with scientific advances.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
