Temptation of Saint Anthony (workshop) Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)

Description of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Temptation of St. Anthony

Bosch put his soul into his work The Temptation of St. Anthony. His famous triptych is one of the artist’s finest paintings. It was based on a medieval literature story about St. Anthony succumbing to terrible temptations in the Egyptian desert. The original painting is kept in the State Museum in Lisbon. In Portugal, the canvas appeared in 1523: it was acquired by Damiao de Gois, the famous Portuguese humanist. There are also several copies (about 20).

This masterpiece of European painting by Bosch has several components. For example, the central part of the triptych depicts the "Temptation of St. Anthony" itself, on the left shutter - "Flight and Fall ...", on the right - "Visions ...". The outer shutters depict episodes about the Passion of Christ.

The central part of the triptych is imbued with fantastic figures. For example, a white bird transformed into a real ship with wings that took to the sky. Most likely Bosch’s inventions came from graffiti on coins from the time of Alexander the Great.

In the center of the canvas is a rite of black mass, indicating the contradictory moods and embarrassment of the master of the brush himself. Here female priests rule the sacrilegious service. They are surrounded by a mixed crowd: following the cripple to the sinful communion is a mandolin-playing creature dressed in a black cloak, who has an owl and the snout of a boar on his head. In these circumstances, the owl symbolizes lying, although in other sources it is a symbol of the bright forces, the so-called eye of God, watching over the actions of participants in the alchemical process.

From the great fruit of the red monsters come out. Their leader, a demon, plays the harp. In the background is a sorcerer in a cylinder who controls the actions of a group of demons. At the bottom of the canvas, the artist has depicted a headless duck floating, with a small window on its neck, from which the demon looks out.

The main character in the left shutter is St. Anthony himself. He has fallen from heaven and the Antonites lift him up. At the top of the shutter, the saint has his hands folded in prayer, disregarding his tormentors.

On the right sash Antony is presented to the viewer as a knight of firm faith who has defeated evil forces.

The great painter Bosch believed that the alchemists were true heretics. The master of the brush took great pains to reveal to the viewer how wrong the alchemists’ interpretation of the Bible was with their heretical thoughts.