The Temptation of St Anthony (Schongauer)

St. Anthony is shown with some of his signature attributes, dressed in a monk's religious habit and cowl, carrying a staff with a tau-shaped handle and his bound girdle book hanging from his belt.

[2] In The Temptation of St. Anthony, Schongauer's engraving technique forms the image from dots, lines and areas of hatching, varying spaces between them in order to enhance the interaction of white and black.

The vast amount of negative space in the background accentuates St. Anthony's vulnerability while the curving and horizontal lines of the devils add energy and movement.

Schongauer's mastery of texture is shown by giving the viewer a sense of how each beast would feel ranging from the roughness of the scales to the soft hairiness of the fur.

"[2] This chapter emphasizes the difference between good and bad spirits then goes on to talk about the devil and how many battles one must pass through the air in order to achieve celestial ascent.

A friend found him and helped him recover and once St. Anthony had regained consciousness he asked to be sent back to fight these demons who took the shape of animals and beasts.

The British Museum which owns a copy of the print describes the hermit's ascent: "the rigorous asceticism practiced by St Anthony in the Egyptian desert allowed him to levitate in the air, where he was attacked by devils trying to beat him to the ground," and soon after the creatures were driven away by the apparitions of Christ.

[10] In addition, this engraving has served as inspiration for later paintings on the same episode, such as The Temptation of St. Anthony by Jan Brueghel the Elder, where the same scene is shown in the upper right.