Description
The Torment of Saint Anthony is an early panel attributed to Michelangelo, dated to about 1487–1488: an aged hermit hangs in mid-air while a swarm of winged demons pull and strike him, and far below lies a quiet river landscape. The original, oil and tempera on panel, is only 47 cm high and 33.7 cm wide and belongs to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oils on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 136 x 193 cm or made to measure, and before it leaves us you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Torment of Saint Anthony |
| Other titles: | The Temptation of Saint Anthony · Il tormento di sant’Antonio |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) |
| Year painted: | c. 1487–1488 |
| Original size: | 47 cm x 33.7 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil and tempera on panel |
| Painting style: | High Renaissance |
| Located at: | Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Torment of Saint Anthony – Michelangelo
What does the painting show?
At the centre of the upright composition floats the saint, an old man with a long white beard and a thin golden halo. He wears a black monk’s habit; the wind lifts his brown cloak to the left.
A whole swarm of demons crowds around him. At the top left a shaggy brown devil with horns swings a club; beside it twists a spiny, long-snouted creature covered in fish scales. From above, a horned demon with huge bat wings seizes his head, while on the right a dark, scaly dragon with red wings coils around the group.
From below, others tug at his habit: a red demon with a long tail hanging upside down, a yellowish creature with wings of coloured feathers, and dark beasts with claws and beaks. Beneath this tangle the landscape opens out: a steep crag with bare saplings on the left, a broad blue-green river with a small sailing boat in the middle, a town with a pointed church spire on the far bank.
Who was Saint Anthony, and what is happening here?
Saint Anthony (251–356) was a hermit who withdrew into the solitude of the desert. Stories of his temptations were widely told in the Middle Ages and appear in the Golden Legend, a collection of saints’ lives.
According to Wikipedia, this composition shows a later episode: Anthony was normally carried about the desert by angels, but this time demons ambushed him in mid-air. He resists their temptations.
That is where the painting draws its strength. The demons are loud, all teeth, claws and spines, while the saint stays quiet and collected, as if their blows cannot reach him.
Why is this painting so well known?
Because, if it is really by Michelangelo, it is his earliest surviving painting. He would have made it at twelve or thirteen, long before the David or the Sistine ceiling. The attribution is disputed, however, and not every expert accepts it.
The young artist turned an engraving by Martin Schongauer into colour, yet he did more than copy it. Giorgio Vasari records that Michelangelo painted Saint Anthony after a Schongauer print, and Ascanio Condivi that he went to a market to draw fish scales, which the engraving does not have. He also added the landscape below the figures and changed the saint’s expression.
The English-language Wikipedia article covers the painting’s history and the debate over who made it.
Where is the original, and how did it reach Texas?
The original belongs to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, where it is catalogued as AP 2009.01. The little wooden panel is 47 cm high and 33.7 cm wide.
For a long time it was attributed to the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio, under whom Michelangelo served his apprenticeship. In 2008 it went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where discoloured varnish and later overpainting were removed and it was examined closely for the first time.
On the strength of stylistic features such as emphatic cross-hatching, it was judged to be by Michelangelo. Soon afterwards the Kimbell Art Museum acquired it. Experts still disagree on whether this is the painting Vasari mentions.
This painting or another Michelangelo?
This is a canvas painting for lovers of the early Renaissance, fantastic creatures and stories in which good holds out against force. It is at its best in a study, a library or a hallway.
If you would like another early Michelangelo on panel, look at The Manchester Madonna: Mary holds a book away from the Child, and part of the panel was left unfinished. The Entombment is unfinished too; in it the dead Christ is carried upright from both sides.
The only finished panel from Michelangelo’s mature years is The Doni Tondo, a round composition with Mary, Joseph and the Child. For a calm, monumental Sistine figure, choose The Prophet Isaiah. Our Michelangelo page brings together the famous Michelangelo paintings we paint.
How is our painting made?
We start only once you order, in oils on canvas, one layer over another. The original is a tiny panel in oil and tempera; our canvas is larger, so the scales, feathers and spines read more clearly.
First the painter sketches the knot of bodies with a fine brush, because demons, wings and tails interlock tightly and every limb has to belong to the right creature. Then come the pale green-blue sky and the river, and only then the figures, built from dark tones to light.
Each demon gets its own surface: fur, fish scales, bat-wing membrane, coloured feathers or rough red skin. The saint’s black habit needs several layers so that it stays deep and does not look flat.
This Michelangelo reproduction has a real surface with visible brushwork that comes alive in raking light. As an oil painting reproduction with a pale sky and warm reds, it looks right in daylight and under a warm lamp alike.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 40 x 55 or 45 x 65 cm beside a bookcase or above a desk, 60 x 81 or 65 x 95 cm for a hallway or study, 83 x 120 or 93 x 135 cm above a sofa or bed, and 120 x 165 or 136 x 193 cm for a large wall or a stairwell.
We paint it in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 55, 45 x 65, 60 x 81, 65 x 95, 83 x 120, 93 x 135, 120 x 165 and 136 x 193 cm. The original measures only 33.7 x 47 cm, so even our smallest size is 6.3 cm wider and 8 cm taller.
Small, it feels like a precious miniature; large, its demons take over the wall. As a painting for the living room it works best at 83 x 120 or 93 x 135 cm. Hang it so that the saint’s face is roughly at eye level.
Can I have another size or a frame?
Yes. If you need a different proportion, we adapt the composition so that the saint and every demon stay whole. Let us know the size you have in mind, and we will reply with a price and a lead time.
It ships rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing take place in our workshop in Slovenia. The moulding is picked in our 3D app, whose only job is frame choice; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A narrow gilded moulding in a Renaissance spirit, or a plain dark wooden frame, suits the black habit and the greenish sky.
When will it arrive, and how is it shipped?
Once you confirm the order the painter gets to work, and the painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before packing we send you a photograph of the finished work and make any changes you ask for. Saint Anthony travels to Slovenia and the rest of the EU free of customs duty, and our returns policy covers your order.
It makes an unusual gift for a lover of the Renaissance or of saints’ legends. Unsure of the size? Give a wall art voucher and let them choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original on display?
At the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, under accession number AP 2009.01.
Who is attacking the saint?
Winged demons with horns, scales, spines and claws.
Is this a printed reproduction?
No. It is a hand-painted copy: our painter builds it up in oils, brushstroke by brushstroke, on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 47 cm high and 33.7 cm wide; all our sizes are larger, the smallest being 40 x 55 cm.
Is it really by Michelangelo?
It is attributed to him, but the attribution is disputed; if it is his, he painted it at 12 or 13.
Which room does it suit?
A study, a library, a hallway, or a living room above the sofa.
Can I order a size that is not listed?
Yes. Tell us the width and height, and we will quote a price and a finishing date for your Saint Anthony.
How long does it take?
From 15 to 45 working days, and you see a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
- Subject: the aged Saint Anthony, beset by winged demons in mid-air, above a river landscape.
- Original: c. 1487–1488, oil and tempera on panel, 47 x 33.7 cm, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth.
- Ours: painted by hand in oils on canvas to your order, 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 136 x 193 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: a colour copy of an engraving by Schongauer; if it is by Michelangelo, it is his earliest surviving painting.
