18th Century ENGRAVING THE TEMPTATION OF SAINT ANTOINE
18th Century ENGRAVING THE TEMPTATION OF SAINT ANTOINE
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Rare and Superb 18th-Century Engraving
After David Teniers, born in Antwerp (1610–1690)
This 18th-century engraving depicts The Temptation of Saint Anthony, one of the most powerful and troubling themes in Christian iconography.
Saint Anthony the Great, regarded as the father of Christian monasticism, withdrew into the desert to lead a life of asceticism, prayer, and solitude. According to early hagiographic accounts, his retreat was marked by violent spiritual temptations, embodied in the form of demonic visions, monstrous apparitions, and inner torments.
The scene unfolds within a rocky landscape evoking the saint’s hermitage. Anthony, kneeling, takes refuge in prayer before a crucifix, surrounded by symbolic objects of worldly vanity — books, a skull, tableware — while an infernal bestiary invades the space around him. Grotesque, hybrid creatures emerging from the shadows embody the forces of chaos and temptation seeking to divert the hermit from his spiritual quest.
Dated 1735, this engraving testifies to the enduring presence of this major theme in European art, from Hieronymus Bosch to the engravers of the 17th and 18th centuries. It belongs to an iconographic tradition in which the saint’s inner struggle becomes a universal metaphor for the conflict between faith and human passions.
Through its large format, the richness of its composition, and the expressive power of its iconography, this print transcends the simple framework of devotion. It stands as a true object of contemplation, at the crossroads of the sacred, the mystical, and the symbolic.
To Mr. Hickman of the Royal Society of London
By his very humble and very obedient servant, J.-P. Le Bas, 1735
Etched copy in aquatint by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas (1707–1783)
Period impression, some foxing and light sun exposure.
Another copy of this print is held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art , see here
PERIOD : 18th century 1735
SIZE : 56cm X 42cm
SIZE : 22" X 16.5"
A diabolical character presents Saint-Antoine with a glass of wine while he prays in front of a Christ and a skull in the middle of his open books: it is temptation by intoxication.
Around him multiple demons, bats and diabolical characters watch for his reaction.
