Hermit, landscape and temptations · Anthony the Great in the desert

Magnasco, Filippo Lippi, Pieter Huys and Velazquez show Antony the Great as a desert loner, spiritual father and protagonist of fantastical visions.

Saint Anthony the Great is another designation of Anthony Abbot, an Egyptian hermit considered one of the fathers of monasticism. Magnasco almost reduces him to a nervous presence in a vast rocky landscape where nature and solitude dominate. Fra Filippo Lippi gives him the stable dignity of a triptych panel, with the traditional attributes of the old ascetic. Pieter Huys develops Temptation in the wake of Bosch: monsters, impossible architectures and hybrid creatures invade the space around the saint. Pieter Huys develops Temptation in the wake of Bosch: monsters, impossible architectures and hybrid creatures invade the space around the saint. Velazquez represents his meeting with Paul, the first hermit, by integrating several moments of the story into a clear landscape. Velazquez represents his meeting with Paul, the first hermit, integrating several moments of the story into a clear landscape. Velazquez represents his meeting with Paul, the first hermit, integrating several moments of the story into a clear landscape. Velazquez represents his meeting with Paul, the first hermit, integrating several moments of the story into a clear landscape. These works range from icon to fantasy theater without losing the central question of spiritual resistance. The selection "Saint Anthony the Great" notably compares Landscape with Saint Anthony the Great - Alessandro Magnasco and Triptych panel: Saint Anthony the Great - Alessandro Magnasco and Triptych panel: Saint Anthony the Great - Fra Filippo Lippi. His reading favors color.

Antony the Great remains motionless while the world deforms around him: the desert becomes the measure of his solitude and his strength.