HIERONYMUS BOSCH (after) The Temptation of St. Anthony.
Engraving, 1561. 331x430 mm; 13 1/4x17 inches. Engraved by Johannes and Lucas Doetecum, Antwerp. Published by Hieronymus Cock, Antwerp. Trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce engraving.
We have found only 4 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
St. Anthony is a recurrent figure in Bosch's (1450-1516) work, with at least 15 known paintings of this subject attributed to him, all inspired by legends told in the Golden Legend and in his Life by Athansius of Alexandria. The saint's torment by Satan, during his decades of meditation in the wilderness as a hermit, particularly lent itself to Bosch's highly imaginative and fantastic approach to subject matter. The use of this image nearly a century after Bosch's original painting by one of the most prominent publishing houses in Europe at the time, attests to the popularity of the artist's vision then even as it continues to spellbind viewers to this day. Hollstein 10.
