DAVID TENIERS II (ANTWERP 1610-1690 BRUSSELS)

The Temptation of Saint Anthony was one of David Teniers the Younger’s favourite subjects, which he revisited throughout his career. In fact, among his religious paintings, the theme constitutes the largest homogenous group of works, with examples dating from 1635 to the mid-1660s. Initially recorded by Athanasius of Alexandria, the saint’s legend was popularised across Europe through various vernacular translations of his Vita Antonii and Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, and described how Saint Anthony’s faith was tested by the devil. In the present work, Saint Anthony, living as a hermit, crouches in a secluded cave, whilst the temptations he resisted are represented by the demons around him. Comparisons of the vertical composition and grotto can be made with his works on the subject held at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida.

At the time of the 1990 sale, Margaret Klinge confirmed the attribution to Teniers and dated the painting to circa 1635, after the artist had become a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke.