The Temptation of St Anthony

The Egyptian hermit St Anthony (c. 251-356) is sunk in prayer. Around him all sorts of diabolical beings try to tempt him away from his piety. At the upper left he is even dragged viciously up into the air. However, he is unmoved by it all, according to the surviving contemporary account of his life by St Athanasius. Anthony withstood the many demonic trials and survived to the age of 105. He was venerated for centuries as the patron saint who gave protection against contagious diseases. He is also regarded as the founding father of the monastic life. Jan Mandijn, who was born in Haarlem but worked in Antwerp, drew his inspiration for this work from a painting of the same name by Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516), which is now in Lisbon.