The temptation of St Anthony. Oil on canvas. 17th c., after David Teniers II
By David Teniers the Younger
Located in Madrid, ES
Temptations of San Antonio Abad. Oil on canvas. 17th century, following the model of David Teniers II (Antwerp, 1610-Brussels, 1690).
Oil on canvas showing a figurative scene located inside a cave. To the right, you can see a cross standing, supported; to the left, a hut; and in the center of the painting appears an elderly, bearded man, leaning on a table on which there is a ceramic jug and a skull, with an open book at the foot of it. The man looks towards a woman, who points to something outside, and appears accompanied by a large frog and a series of ghostly beings or monsters dressed in brightly colored cloth and clothing.
San Antonio Abad or Antonio Magno (251-356) was a Christian monk, considered the founder of the eremitical movement. He was tempted numerous times by the devil while he was in the desert, becoming a subject frequently represented in art (as can be seen in this oil painting). He is represented in a black habit because the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of San Antonio (Hospitals) was placed under his patronage, being the color of the habits of the members of this order (the tau or Egyptian cross was also the symbol chosen by they).
David Teniers II or El Joven was a prominent Flemish painter and engraver, son of David Teniers El Viejo or I and father of David Teniers III, much appreciated at the time for his scenes of villagers and common people, his paintings of monkey painters, etc. . He dealt with the theme of the Temptations of Saint Anthony...
Category
Antique 17th Century European Baroque Paintings
