The Temptations of Saint Anthony: A Story That Inspired the Art World

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 name a few. All of them reaffirm that the relationship between art and religion is inseparable, among these mentions there is a passage that has caught my attention: The temptations of San Antonio. Saint Anthony, also known as Anton Abbot (251-356 AD), was an Egyptian Christian-Catholic monk famous for enduring the temptations caused by Satan. His story became a source of inspiration in the world of art, especially painting, as it has been masterfully represented in works by artists such as Salvador Dalí, El Bosco, Félicien Rops and Salvator Rosa.

The story of Saint Anthony

When Antón Abad turned twenty years old, he sold all his properties, gave all his money to the poor and retired to live in a local community where he slept in a cave to lead the life of a hermit. He spent many years helping others to finally get his spiritual life on track and into the desert of Egypt, where in utter solitude he was tempted by the devil. And what did these temptations consist of? Lust, power and wealth. Those stormy moments are described in the writing The Life of Saint Anthony by Athanasius of Alexandria (4th century) in this way:

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The demon tried to draw him away from his penance by whispering memories of his wealth, affection for his sister, love of money and glory, the pleasures of the table and comforts of life. And one night she took the form of a woman to seduce him. The place was suddenly filled with the shapes of lions, bears, leopards, scorpions, wolves, bulls, vipers, and each one of these animals moved according to its nature… All the noises of those apparitions, with their furious howls, were frightening.

Because the demons know how to do everything, they confuse, they feign innocence to deceive, they laugh like crazy, and whistle, but if you don’t pay attention to them they cry and lament defeated. San Antonio, 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, leave because I am a servant of Christ.” Having said these words, Antonio drove the beasts away.

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The temptations of Saint Anthony in the work of Salvador Dalí

This scene would be interpreted by various artists, such as Salvador Dalí: In a Dalinian desert, Saint 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 mean vanity and greed, all this, representing earthly pleasures. The entire classical period of Dalí appears in this painting: eroticism, spirituality, mysticism, science and timelessness; a time in which the Spanish painter united two great themes: religion and science, and undoubtedly reflects his obsession with scientific advances.

Bosch’s version: The Temptations of Saint Anthony

In an original way compared to other versions, El Bosco represents an Antonio concentrated in his thoughts. Among the solitude of nature, in a more open space, a pig with a bell at his feet in his ear rests, not realizing that the devil is about to hit 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 themselves to do so, hiding behind the hills or various objects such as a shield and a ladder.

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The Temptations of Saint Anthony created by Félicien Rops

One of my favorite representations of the Temptations is that of Félicien Rops, a Belgian painter and engraver, a master of the grotesque and provocation. In this version it can be seen that a crucified Christ is displaced and replaced by a naked young woman, while the heads of the angels are transformed into skulls. The figure of the saint rejects the temptations that are offered to him, the impression of Saint Anthony who abruptly abandoned concentration and reading of him can also be seen. Behind the cross, and wrapped in his red cloak that covers his horns, a devil sticks out his tongue waiting for the outcome, and the pig that supports its front legs symbolizes lust. In this work, Rops ridicules the Catholic Church’s fight for abstinence and the sexual morality of the bourgeoisie.

The Temptations of Saint Anthony by Salvator Rosa

Salvator was an Italian artist described as ‘an eternal rebel’, his paintings represent dramatic landscapes and wild scenes in the midst of strong storms and inhabited by witches. He had a hobby of painting monstrous beings. In his dark work of The Temptations of Saint Anthony, he shows us a demonic figure that is tormenting Saint Anthony, while he defends himself with the cross that 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.

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Regarding the demonic figure, it is a spectrum that is a mixture of animal parts, as we can see in its skeleton, which are from a bird, the fangs of a boar, the neck of a snake, breasts and penis. These creatures were common to illustrate demons, and they anticipated the surrealism of Dalí, who would later be inspired by them.

What work do you like most about The Temptations of San Antonio?

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