TINTORETTO
(b. 1518, Venezia, d. 1594, Venezia)

The Temptation of St Anthony

c. 1577
Oil on canvas, 282 x 165 cm
San Trovaso, Venice

This much admired painting, reproduced as early as 1582 in an engraving by the young Agostino Carracci, shows St Anthony beset by two female and two male demons tearing off his clothing. The hermit's habit, ripped apart into the form of a cross, his pale loincloth, and the attitudes of his arms and head show that his torments are a parallel to the Passion of Christ. Perhaps intentionally, the divine figure coming to his aid could at first sight be taken for St Mark, the patron saint of Venice, because of its red and blue clothing.