The temptations of Saint Anthony the Abbot

These reliefs were part of the main altarpiece of the now disappeared church of the Hospital de San Antonio Abad of Valladolid. The two scenes, placed in the origin of the lower part of the altarpiece, narrate one of the most popular events of the life of Saint Anthony, his temptations. According to the Golden Legend, this saint, born in Egypt around 251, withdrew to the dessert at a very young age for fasting and penance, where he was often assaulted by the devil's temptations. These iconographically materialize in two different scenes: the beating of the saint by devils that represent the Deadly Sins and the direct attack of the sin of lust, represented in the relief by a demure young woman whose diabolic condition is announced by a devil's horn that protrudes from her exotic headdress and the voluptuous curves of her body. Both reliefs show superb colors