The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Michelangelo)
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| Temptation of Saint Anthony |
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| Michelangelo , 1487 or 1488 |
| Oil and tempera on panel |
| 47 × 35 cm |
| Kimbell Art Museum , Fort Worth , Texas |
The Temptation of Saint Anthony is the earliest known pictorial work by Michelangelo . He painted this panel painting in 1487 or 1488 based on an etching by Martin Schongauer at the age of 12 or 13. The work is located in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth , Texas. It is one of only four known panel paintings by the artist.
Image description
The picture shows a legend of saints that was very widespread in the Middle Ages, as described in the Legenda Aurea . A group of grimaceous monsters has St. Anthony in their clutches and floats with him through the air. The demons torment the saint, who, however, endures this ordeal patiently. Compared to Schongauer's original engraving, Michelangelo added a river landscape with mountains to the depiction; in Schongauer the earth is only indicated by a rock.
The composition as a whole is reminiscent of Flemish painting such as that of Hieronymus Bosch .
Attribution
The authorship of the painting has been the subject of debate among scholars for four and a half centuries. For a long time, the picture was attributed to the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio where Michelangelo worked as an apprentice from the age of 14. With this attribution, it was acquired from Sotheby’s in July 2008 for $ 2,000,000 by an American art dealer. In the course of a cleaning and restoration of the painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City , subsequent overpainting, old varnish and dirt were removed. This was followed by a painting technological examination and assessment with the result that the painting technique corresponds to that of Michelangelos. Furthermore, the picture confirms the anecdote spread by Condivi and Vasari that Buonarotti made a copy of the Schongauer engraving.
“ Michelangelo drew it [the image] with his pen in a way that had not been seen before, and also colored it in. For this purpose, in order to better meet some strange shapes of devils, he bought fish with strange colored scales. In doing so, he showed such a significant skill that he earned a name and respect. "
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The picture offers some other typical features of Michelangelo's oeuvre: the highest imagination paired with a meticulous study of nature. This formula quickly became Michelangelo's trademark.
Along with other works, it was precisely this picture that caused Master Ghirlandaio to find Michelangelo's progress questionable. He realized that his student would outstrip him. Ghirlandaio then refused to look at Michelangelo's sketchbook, from which the apprentices traditionally learned the master's style and technique. The training in Ghirlandaio's workshop was completed before the usual three years.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ EARLIEST KNOWN PAINTING BY MICHELANGELO ACQUIRED BY THE KIMBELL ART MUSEUM ( Memento of the original from February 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 10, 2016
- ↑ a b Vogel, Carol. By the hand of a very young master? The New York Times , May 12, 2009
- ^ Vasari, Giorgio: Artists of the Renaissance, Transmare Verlag Berlin, 1948
- ↑ Sotheby's.com [1] Old Master Paintings Evening Sale, July 9, 2008, lot 69
- ↑ http://blog.arthistoricum.net/beitrag/2009/06/29/michelangelo-und-kein-ende/
- ↑ Giorgio Vasari: The Life of Michelangelo . Alessandro Nova (Ed.), Wagenbach Verlag 2004
- ↑ Volker Reinhardt: The Divine; The life of Michelangelo . Publishing house CH Beck, 2010
- ^ Hermann Grimm: Life of Michelangelo . W. Spemann publishing house, Berlin and Stuttgart 1905.
