Museum number
A35
Object
Oil painting: The Temptation of St Anthony by Jan van der Venne, oil on panel.
Description
St. Anthony, regarded as the father of monasticism, was born in Uper Egypt. He retired into the desert to live a life of solitude. Angered by his famous piesty, the devil sent fearful hallucinations to plague him; these "temptations" have inspired artists from Hieronymus Bosch to Max Ernst. The elder and younger women shown here represent greed and lust. Van de Venne depicts the Saint attempting to ward them off through fervent prayer. He is accompanied by his pig, an animal bred by the Antonine monks in the Middle Ages which was a symbol, both of St. Anthony and the Order he founded.This painting is a good example of the work of this rare artist who was especially noted for his treatment of weird and exotic subject matter.
Materials
Oil
On display?
Yes

Further description

Simple name
Painting
Dimensions
framed: 11.5000cm (d) x 79.2000cm (h) x 95.6000cm (w)
regular: 73.7cm (h) x 53.1cm (w)
The Temptation of St Anthony Jan van der Venne (active 1616, died before 1651) Oil on panel Jan van der Venne of Brussels shows the hermit saint Anthony visited by violent temptations. A woman wrapped in soft satin beckons to him, while Avarice rattles a bulging purse. He is taunted by visionary demons: one has a skull bobbing on a snake-like neck, with a second head dripping from its nose. The artist contrasts the swirling movement of the fiends with the rock-like silence of St Anthony kneeling in prayer. A35 A35

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