Flemish or Italian school; 17th century.

Flemish or Italian school; XVII century.
"Saint Anthony Abbot".
Oil on copper.
Measurements: 19 x 24 cm; 32 x 36 cm (frame).
The first thing that calls the attention in this oil painting is the subordination of the biblical theme to the majesty of the landscape, both in the foreground and in the background, where you can appreciate the imposing presence of a city. The first thing that is striking in this oil painting is the subordination of the biblical theme to the majesty of the landscape, shifting the figure of the saint to the right with the Holy Scriptures and before a crucifix, as is usual in his iconography.
According to legend, Saint Anthony was born around 251 in Egypt, and at a very young age he retired to the solitude of the desert. He was especially venerated in Catalonia, where adventures and miracles were attributed to him, which served as a theme for Jaume Huguet (1412-1492) for his great altarpiece of Saint Anthony in Barcelona. This saint is usually represented as we see here, as a bearded old man wearing a hooded sackcloth, a common garment of the Antonites. He is usually presented reading the Holy Scriptures, and the episode of his temptations in the desert is, together with his visit to Paul the hermit, the most represented. The iconography of the temptations of St. Anthony was first depicted in Italy in the tenth century, and in medieval Europe it was frequently represented in painting, in illuminated books, and later in German engravings. It is a theme of special interest because it reflects the struggle between Good and Evil, between Christ and Satan. This work depicts the hermit saint in the desert, meditating on the Scriptures and the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures, as the accompanying book attests, although the usual skull, cross and hourglass do not appear.