拍品專文
Saint Anthony of Egypt was a hermit saint in the 3rd Century BC, whose life of contemplation was beset by attacks from the devil. In the first instance the devil afflicted him with boredom, laziness and the phantoms of women, but Anthony fought them with the power of prayer. Next the devil sent a swarm of beasts, described thus in The Golden Legend, ‘And anon they came in form of divers beasts wild and savage, of whom that one howled, another siffled, and another cried, and another brayed and assailed Saint Anthony, that one with the horns, the others with their teeth, and the others with their paws and ongles, and disturned’.
Teniers would have been acquainted with similar versions of the hagiography, as well other depictions of the tale in the visual arts. He developed the theme over several paintings in which different variations of the daemons can be seen. Several of these works are held in important public collections, including the Rijksmuseum, the Hermitage and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, to name but a few. In each version the balance is maintained between the demonic multitude and the symbols of religious salvation, in the form of the crucifix and the open Bible. Though Teniers executed this painting with delicate humour - the clawed frog who strains at Anthony’s robe, the expression of worried surprise on Anthony’s face – the underlying message would have been a serious concern to his 17th-century audience: a choice between worldliness and eternal life. The skull resting on the table, representative of vanitas, serves to reinforce this notion.
Teniers would have been acquainted with similar versions of the hagiography, as well other depictions of the tale in the visual arts. He developed the theme over several paintings in which different variations of the daemons can be seen. Several of these works are held in important public collections, including the Rijksmuseum, the Hermitage and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, to name but a few. In each version the balance is maintained between the demonic multitude and the symbols of religious salvation, in the form of the crucifix and the open Bible. Though Teniers executed this painting with delicate humour - the clawed frog who strains at Anthony’s robe, the expression of worried surprise on Anthony’s face – the underlying message would have been a serious concern to his 17th-century audience: a choice between worldliness and eternal life. The skull resting on the table, representative of vanitas, serves to reinforce this notion.