The temptation of Saint Anthony - Attributed to Cornelis de Baeillieur

Oil on copper

Cornelis de Baellieur the Elder was an Antwerp painter who was strongly influenced by Frans Francken the Younger. Our painting partly copies a popular composition by Frans Francken II of which several versions exist: some are attributed to Frans Francken II or to his workshop, others to Cornelis de Baellieur.

Saint Anthony was the first Christian who consecrated a large part of his life to solitude: an existence of abstinence and self-denial free of earthly attachments. Our painting shows how the devil attacked his mind with lustful thoughts and his body with seductive or frightful creatures.