The Torment of Saint Anthony | 1488 Size:A2 Portrait where festivity meets the macabre

where festivity meets the macabre

Freyenthurn Castle rises quietly above a still lake

with the warm hues of Narcissus' skin and clothing contrasting against the cool blues and greens of the background

The overall atmosphere is solemn and mystical

shifting it from calm

The Torment of Saint Anthony | 1488 Size:A2 Portrait where festivity meets the macabreThis painting is now in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. It shows the common medieval subject, included in the Golden Legend and other sources, of Saint Anthony (AD 251 356) being assailed in the desert by demons, whose temptations he resisted; the Temptation of St Anthony (or "Trial") is the more common name of the subject. But this composition apparently shows a later episode where St Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by