The Tribulations of St. Anthony

In this engraving Anthony, a Christian saint, appears as if suspended in the air. Martin Schongauer depicted Anthony patiently enduring the vicious attack of nine demons. The creatures’ brutal nature is evident in their brawny and muscular limbs, sinewy and feathery wings, horns, tails, spines and scales, claws and hooves, and various short, stunted, pointed, and warty snouts. The artist was the son of a goldsmith, but he trained as a painter. With his combined skills as a draftsman and an engraver in metal he conjured the unimaginable terror of this otherworldly event. Many depictions of this Egyptian hermit saint show him resisting temptation by demons, but this particular episode in his life is unusual in the visual arts. According to Anthony’s biographer, just before dining one day the saint saw himself “from outside himself,” led into the air by “certain ones” until “certain bitter and terrible beings” tried to hinder him from passing through the air. When they could find no wrongs to accuse him of, the demons disappeared, and Anthony returned to himself, as if from an out-of-body experience.