Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony

An oil-on-panel triptych by Hieronymus Bosch showing Saint Anthony’s spiritual trials amid fantastical temptations and demonic disorder. Its central panel places the saint amid a crowded, surreal landscape.

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Left Panel of the Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony: The triptych’s left panel shows Anthony being carried through the air by demons and returned to earth. It presents physical assault as one of Anthony’s spiritual trials.
Triptych: A work of art divided into three panels, often joined by hinges and designed to be viewed together. The hinged format lets Bosch divide Anthony’s trials into related episodes.
Hieronymus Bosch: A Dutch painter of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries known for religious scenes populated by fantastical figures. Bosch’s distinctive imagery and religious imagination shape the triptych’s scenes.
Desert Fathers: Early Christian ascetics who pursued prayer and discipline in the deserts of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Anthony’s solitary struggle draws on the spiritual ideals associated with these ascetics.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Prado): A painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch in the Prado Museum showing Anthony among demonic figures. Its composition offers a distinct Bosch-related treatment of the same saint and subject.
Central Panel of the Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony: The triptych’s central panel surrounds Anthony with grotesque figures, ruined structures, and scenes of temptation. Its crowded disorder makes the saint’s steadfastness the composition’s central focus.
Oil Painting: A painting made with pigments bound in drying oil, allowing layered color and detailed surface effects. Oil paint supports the minute textures and nuanced color of Bosch’s fantastical details.
Early Netherlandish Painting: A tradition of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century painting in the Low Countries marked by detailed naturalism and complex symbolism. The triptych’s precise surfaces connect it to the painting traditions of the Low Countries.
Asceticism: A disciplined practice of limiting bodily comforts or desires for spiritual, ethical, or philosophical purposes. Anthony’s resistance to bodily and worldly lures embodies ascetic discipline.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Lisbon): A triptych in Lisbon’s Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga depicting Anthony’s spiritual trials, attributed to Hieronymus Bosch. It is another Bosch-attributed triptych devoted to Anthony’s temptations.