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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileA Saint Pope, Saint Sebastian and the Temptation of Saint Anthony Abbot
The upper panel displays a standing saint in full papal regalia, wearing a mitre and holding a patriarchal cross, positioned next to Saint Sebastian, who is dressed in mid-15th century court attire and holds a long bow. The lower panel depicts an elderly, bearded Saint Anthony the Great sprawled on the ground, beset by multiple dark-skinned demons with wings, horns, and clawed feet who pull at his hair and body. In the background of the lower scene, a small, cubic building with a cross atop it sits near a mountain cave, signifying the monk's hermitage. The work utilizes a Gothic architectural frame and gold-leaf halos for the saints, emphasizing a contrast between the orderly, static poses of the saints above and the chaotic, visceral violence of the temptations below.
The depiction of Saint Anthony's temptation draws directly from Athanasius of Alexandria's 'Life of Saint Anthony', which popularized the hagiographic tradition of the ascetic desert anchorite battling demonic manifestations of human desire and fear. The juxtaposition with Sebastian and a Pope highlights the dual medieval focus on martyrdom, ecclesiastical authority, and the personal spiritual warfare required of the monastic life.
Athanasius of Alexandria, 'Life of Saint Anthony'
The lower panel provides a literal pictorial representation of the demonic assaults described in Athanasius's influential biography of the desert saint.
Object
tempera
panel (wood)
Gothic
Spanish
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
504 × 900 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.