Dali's painting "The Temptation of Saint Anthony"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Many books have been written in honor of St. Anthony, countless pictures have been drawn. This hermit was indeed a great believer. Anthony still inspires people to gain God's faith and renounce sinful deeds.

Who is this?

St. Anthony the Great was a hermit, a Christian saint. Born in Upper Egypt in a we althy family. After his parents died, he gave away his property to the poor, and he himself went to the Egyptian desert, where for many years he existed in complete solitude, indulging in prayers and reflections. He is considered the founder of the monastic way of life.

Once in Europe there was a terrible epidemic of erysipelas, patients begged for medicines, pronouncing the name of Anthony, so the disease was called "Antonov's fire."

Usually, the hermit is depicted as a bearded old man, dressed in a monastic cassock and cloak. In his hand he holds an old crutch with a T-handle and a bell. There is always a pig nearby, since in medieval times the Antonian monks fattened these animals, and lard was used as a cure for the Antonov fire disease. Sometimes a bell is depicted on the neck of apigs, because the animals belonging to the parishes of the brothers had the right to graze on special pastures, they were distinguished from others by a bell.

Temptations

Like many other hermits, Saint Anthony periodically had hallucinations - this arose as a result of an ascetic lifestyle in a harsh desert. Life without enough water, food and communication leads to clouding of the mind. In the visual arts, artists projected in their paintings the temptation of St. Anthony in two forms:

1. A saint who is overcome by terrible demons.
2. Erotic visions.

Demons seduce the hermit in his dwelling, sometimes they are depicted in the guise of monsters and wild animals, tormenting human flesh. But as soon as the divine light appears, all evil spirits disappear into darkness and the temptation of St. Anthony stops.

Artists have always been very excited about this lewd seductive theme. In early Renaissance painting, in this story, women were depicted in clothes, but with horns, which was reminiscent of their demonic origin. In the 16th century, women were already beginning to be painted naked. In the paintings, the hermit wages a fierce struggle against his flesh and carnal desires, he tries to drive away his passionate seductresses with a cross or prayer.

How did Salvador Dali's painting come about?

The painting by Salvador Dali was born thanks to an art competition announced by Albert Levin, a producer from America. Him for the film based on the famous novel by Guy DeMaupassant's "Dear Friend" needed an inspiring image of a tempted saint. This project involved 11 artists from different countries, and the jury included two famous people: Marcel Duchamp (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, like Salvador Dali, emigrated from Europe to the USA during the war years.

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 else in his life. In general, Guy De Maupassant is famous for his magnificent skill in describing human vices, his characters are always in a halo of a mysterious mixture of seductive and demonic.

Amazing canvas

The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Salvador Dali) is exhibited at the Belgian Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

The plot of this painting is the depiction of strange creatures sent by the devil, and they come to St. Anthony. Salvador Dali masterfully portrayed 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 manages to unravel his plan.

In the corner of the picture there is a holy ascetic, he is protected by a homemade wooden cross. The cross symbolizes unwavering faith. Monsters hang over the saint, as if trying to push him out of the picture. Animals carry sins on thin spider legs. If Antony succumbs to temptation even for a second, his paws will break and sins will fall right on him.

Description of the painting "The Temptation of St. Anthony"

The canvas depicts walking animals in sequence: first, a horse (it represents strength, sometimes it is a symbol of voluptuousness), then comes an elephant, on the back of which there is a golden bowl of lust, and in it is 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 Venetian building in the Palladio style. Looking at the painting "The Temptation of St. Anthony" by Dali, you can see that another elephant is walking in the distance, he carries a high tower - a symbol of worldly and spiritual order.

Salvador Dali brought a classic biblical story in a unique and idiosyncratic 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 from this picture that a new branch in the work of the great artist begins. Three elements are combined in his creations: classical painting, spiritualism and the atomic age.

Short biographySalvador Dali

Born May 11, 1904. From early childhood, the eccentric character of Salvador Dali began to appear, he was often capricious and threw tantrums. He began to draw from the age of 4, and at 10 his first painting appeared, which depicted an impressionistic landscape. The boy spent all day drawing in the room allocated to him for this purpose.

In 1925, when Salvador was 21 years old, his first exhibition was held, consisting of 27 canvases and 5 drawings. However, fame began to come to him only in 1930. The themes of destruction, death, corruption and (due to the influence of Freud's books) human sexual experiences dominated the paintings.

In 1959, the love of art connoisseurs for the brilliant great artist began to manifest itself, his canvases 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, it brings indescribable delight to all visitors. El Salvador was buried there in 1989, in the very center of the building under an unmarked slab.

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" by Bosch

Always remember Salvador Dali when they talk about Hieronymus Bosch. To the work of this artist, many are ambiguous, and many frankly do not like his paintings. But still, most agree that Bosch's paintings have an incredible and attractive power.

The artist Hieronymus Bosch loved to depict St. Anthony the Great in his creations. Oneone of his best works is the triptych “The Temptation of St. Anthony. Bosch depicted in the picture the human race, which is mired in sins and its stupidity, an endless variety of hellish torments awaiting each person, the Passion of Christ and the temptation of his flesh are also attached. But unshakable faith helps to resist the strong onslaught of enemies.

On how and why this unusual triptych was created, little has been written. In 1523, it was bought by the Portuguese humanist Damiao de Gois. In the painting "The Temptation of St. Anthony" Bosch connected all the creative motives that he used.

Triptych description

The triptych that Bosch wrote ("The Temptation of St. Anthony") is literally teeming with incredible fantastic creatures. The plot can be disassembled into separate moments:

• The woman holding the Communion Cup is a witch with an alchemical elixir of life brewed with black magic.
• Black, white and red women are the personification of the transformation of the elements in the alchemical process. The pitcher and glass are filled with demonic elixir.
• A creature holding an egg in its hands is a miscarriage, or otherwise - a man from a test tube. He holds a stone that can turn metal into gold.
• The owl is the only bright moment in the painting that Bosch created. "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" is a very unusual painting. The owl helps in witnessing the actions of the alchemists, it serves as God's Eye.
• A whole legion of demons is depicted on the left wing, their diversity andsophistication.
• The entire right wing is filled with various personalized temptations.

Book by Gustave Flaubert

St. Anthony was loved not only to draw. They loved to write about him. For example, Gustave Flaubert identified himself with the hermit, not in terms of lifestyle, but in terms of inner state of mind.

The image of Saint Anthony accompanied the writer Gustave Flaubert for almost 30 years. The book was written in two versions, the first came out in 1849 and the second in 1856.

The immediate impetus for the creation of the work "The Temptation of St. Anthony" Flaubert served as a painting by Brueghel the Younger (Infernal). It depicts not the physical torment of Antony, but a dialogue with mortal sins among the endless procession of monsters and ancient gods.

Some critics have no doubt that in the drama Flaubert described his own temptations. It is an obsession with desires expressed in a tragic light with romantic intensity.