The Temptations of St. Anthony the Abbot
Technical Details
-
Title
The Temptations of St. Anthony the Abbot -
Author
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo -
Year
1724 - 5 -
Dimensions
cm 40 x 47 -
Inventory
5969 -
Room
XXXV
Tiepolo painted this youthful work before being summoned to decorate the Bishop’s Palace in Udine in 1726. The fantastical landscape is a figment of his clearly very fertile imagination. The aged monk attempts to shield himself behind a huge book, warding off the temptation – in the shape of a beautiful, naked young woman – being ushered before him by a devil with bat’s wings. Tiepolo turns the Bible story into an allegory of the seasons of life, conferring an almost secular character on the scene.
