The Temptations of St. Anthony

Matin Schongauer’s engraving, The Temptation of St. Anthony. 

Matthias Grunewald’s Temptation of St. Anthony

Hieronymus Bosch’s Temptation of St. Anthony

These images are so full of imagination. I love when these old 17th century artists who were presumably devout men making images for the church spawn such hellish creatures. I want to pat them on the back and say “good job, you really cut loose and had fun making this.” These representations of the classic subject of St. Anthony are more appealing to me than modern interpretations such as Dali’s 1946 painting. While Dali’s image is wonderful, it doesn’t have that same feeling of controversy or conflict. During the Northern Renaissance, these paintings were not trying to be irreverent or disrespectful- just the opposite! There is a captivating duality: the artists created the images to remind them of the hell they wanted to escape yet the imagination and attention would suggest that the artists enjoyed dreaming up these sufferings.

I am thinking that these beautifully revolting demons and human plights may begin to inform some of my future work.