Joos van Craesbeeck, The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1650

by Atelier Liesjes

A frenzied scene has unfolded along a gloomy coastline. On the left, the giant head of a man dominates the scene, his mouth wide open and a gash across his forehead; from that wound emerge tiny devils, a painter with a palette, a pair of spectacles and a bird’s nest containing young birds, whilst above the skull, birds and pots flutter through the air. On the right, the hermit Anthony sits by the trunk of a bare tree, his book open on his knee, whilst a young woman in white hands him a glass of wine. All around them, the scene is teeming with monstrosities: a devil rides a goose; creatures crawl out of a large broken egg; a snail and a lizard slither across the ground; monkeys and a crab stand guard. On the left, small boats full of figures bob on the sea, and above the coast a heavy, smoky cloud races across the sky. Craesbeeck painted this temptation in the tradition of the devil scenes by Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel: here, evil is literally given a physical form, from the lustful woman to the devils that spring from the sinner’s mind like thoughts. The work is at once serious and grotesque, a warning to the viewer. The dark, smoky palette, with warm flesh tones and a few razor-sharp highlights, heightens the sense of unease; the nocturnal sea and the burning horizon make the ordeal almost tangible. The viewer must decide for themselves what is reality and what springs from the hermit’s mind. Joos van Craesbeeck (Neerlinter c. 1605 – Brussels 1661) was a pupil of Adriaen Brouwer and a contemporary of David Teniers. In addition to his famous tavern scenes, he painted religious subjects in which he could give free rein to his sense of the grotesque. This painting from the Karlsruhe collection is regarded as one of his most distinctive works. A fascinating, sombre piece for lovers of Flemish Baroque and fantastical art.