Many books have been written in honor of St. Anthony, and countless paintings have been painted. This hermit was truly a great believer. Anthony still inspires people to gain God's faith and abandon sinful acts.
Who is it?
St. Anthony the Great was a hermit, a Christian saint. Born in Upper Egypt into a wealthy family. After his parents died, he handed over his property to the poor, and he went to the Egyptian desert, where for many years he existed in complete solitude, indulging in prayers and thoughts. He is considered the founder of a monastic lifestyle.
Once in Europe there was a terrible epidemic of erysipelas, patients licked out drugs, pronouncing the name Anthony, so the disease was called "Anton fire."
Usually a hermit is portrayed as a bearded old man, dressed in a monk's robe and cloak. In his hand he holds an old crutch with a T-shaped handle and a bell. There is always a pig nearby, since in medieval times the Anthony monks fed these animals, and lard was used as a medicine against the disease "Anton fire." Sometimes the bell is depicted on the neck of a pig, because animals belonging to the parishes of the brothers had the right to graze on special pastures, distinguished them from others by the bell.
Temptations
Like many other hermits, St. Anthony periodically saw hallucinations - this arose as a result of an ascetic lifestyle in a harsh desert. Living without enough water, food, and fellowship leads to clouding of the mind. In the visual arts, artists projected in their paintings the temptation of St. Anthony in two forms:
- A saint overpowered by terrible demons.
- Visions with an erotic bias.
Demons seduce the hermit in his home, sometimes they are depicted in the guise of monsters and wild animals, tormenting the flesh of man. But as soon as the divine light appears, all evil spirits disappear in the darkness and the temptation of St. Anthony ceases.
Artists have always been very worried about this dissolute seductive topic. In the early Renaissance painting in this story, women were portrayed in clothes, but with horns, which reminded them of their demonic origin. In the XVI century, women are already beginning to draw naked. In the paintings, the hermit conducts a fierce struggle against his flesh and carnal desires, he tries to drive away his passionate seducers with a cross or prayer.
How did the picture of Salvador Dali appear?
A painting by Salvador Dali was born thanks to an art competition announced by Albert Levin, a producer from America. For the film based on the famous novel by Guy De Maupassant “Dear Friend”, he needed an inspiring image of a tempted saint. This project was attended by 11 artists from different countries, and the jury included two famous people: Marcel Duchamp (a cult artist) and Alfred Barr (the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York).
The winner was Max Ernst, a surrealist who during the war years, like Salvador Dali, emigrated from Europe to the United States.
The novel “Dear Friend”, for which the painting “The Temptation of St. Anthony” was needed, describes the fate of a man, a womanizer from high society. He had a unique ability to seduce people, but, alas, besides this, he had nothing more in life. In general, Guy De Maupassant is famous for his excellent skill in describing human vices; his characters are always in the halo of a mysterious mixture of seductive and demonic.
Stunning canvas
The painting “The Temptation of St. Anthony” (Salvador Dali) is exhibited at the Belgian Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.
The plot of this painting is the image of strange creatures that the devil sends, and they appear to St. Anthony. Salvador Dali masterfully outlined two sinister demons in one beautiful naked woman.
The artist took the canonical plot as a basis and recreated a strange world filled with mysterious symbols and numerous allusions. Not everyone is able to solve his plan.
In the corner of the picture is the holy ascetic, he is protected by a makeshift wooden cross. The cross symbolizes an unshakable faith. Monsters hang over the saint, as if trying to force him out of the picture. Animals carry sins on thin spider legs. If Anthony succumbs to temptation even for a second, his legs will break and sins will fall right on him.
Description of the artwork "The Temptation of St. Anthony"
The canvas depicts in a sequence of walking animals: first a horse (it represents power, sometimes it is a symbol of voluptuousness), then there is an elephant, on the back of which there is a golden cup of lust, and in it a naked woman, dangerously balancing on a fragile stand, which emphasizes the erotic nature of the overall composition . Other elephants carry unusual objects: an obelisk and a Palladian-style Venetian building. Looking at the painting “The Temptation of St. Anthony” by Dali, you can see that another elephant is walking in the distance, it carries a high tower - a symbol of secular and spiritual order.
Salvador Dali presented a classic biblical story in a unique and peculiar style. This is what distinguishes the painting “The Temptation of St. Anthony”. The original size of the canvas is 151x113 cm, the material is canvas and oil, the genre is surrealism.
According to many experts and researchers, it is with this picture that a new branch begins in the work of the great artist. In his creations, three elements are combined: classical painting, spiritualism and the atomic era.
Short biography of Salvador Dali
Born May 11, 1904. Already from early childhood, the eccentric nature of Salvador Dali began to manifest itself, he often acted up and arranged tantrums. He began to paint from 4 years old, and at 10 his first painting appeared, which depicted an impressionist landscape. The boy spent all day drawing in the room allocated to him for these purposes.
In 1925, when Salvador was 21 years old, his first exhibition was held, consisting of 27 paintings and 5 drawings. However, fame began to come to him only in 1930. The paintings were dominated by themes of destruction, death, decay, and (due to the influence of Freud's books) the sexual experiences of a person.
In 1959, the love of art lovers for the great artist of genius began to manifest, his paintings were bought for a lot of money. Many millionaires considered it necessary to have Dali paintings in their collections .
In 1973, the Dali Museum was opened in Figueras. To this day, he leads indescribable delight of all visitors. Salvador was buried there in 1989, in the very center of the building under an unmarked stove.
The Temptation of St. Anthony by Bosch
They invariably recall Salvador Dali when they talk about Jerome Bosch. Many are ambiguous about the work of this artist, and many of his paintings frankly do not like. But still the majority agrees that the canvases of Bosch have incredible and attractive power.
The artist Jerome Bosch loved to depict St. Anthony the Great in his creations. One of his best works is considered the triptych “Temptation of St. Anthony. " In the picture, Bosch depicted the human race, which is mired in sins and its stupidity, the endless variety of hellish torments awaiting each person, the Passion of Christ and the temptation of his flesh are also joined. But unwavering faith helps withstand a strong onslaught of enemies.
Little is written about how and why this unusual triptych was created. In 1523, it was bought by the Portuguese humanist Damiao de Gois. In the film "The Temptation of St. Anthony," Bosch combined all the creative motives that he used.
Description of the triptych
The triptych written by Bosch (The Temptation of St. Anthony) literally teems with implausible fantastic creatures. The plot can be disassembled into individual moments:
- The woman who holds the Communion Cup is a witch with the alchemical elixir of life, brewed using black magic.
- Black, white and red women are the personification of the transformation of elements in the alchemical process. The jug and glass are filled with a demonic elixir.
- A creature holding an egg is a miscarriage, or else a test-tube person. He has a stone in his hands that can turn metal into gold.
- An owl is the only bright moment in the picture that Bosch created. The Temptation of St. Anthony is a very unusual painting. An owl helps in witnessing the actions of alchemists; it serves as the Eye of God.
- A whole legion of demons is depicted on the left wing; their diversity and sophistication amaze the imagination.
- The entire right wing is filled with various personified temptations.
Gustave Flaubert's book
St. Anthony was loved not only to draw. They loved to write about him. For example, Gustave Flaubert identified himself with a hermit, but not in the aspect of the way of life, but in the aspect of the internal state of mind.
The writer Gustave Flaubert accompanied the image of St. Anthony for almost 30 years. The book was written in two versions, the first was published in 1849, and the second in 1856.
The immediate impulse for creating the work “The Temptation of St. Anthony” to Flaubert was the picture of Brueghel the Younger (Hell). It depicts not the physical torment of Anthony, but a dialogue with mortal sins amid the endless procession of monsters and ancient gods.
Some critics have no doubt that Flaubert described his own temptations in the drama . This is an obsession with desires, expressed in a tragic light with romantic tension.