“The Temptation of St. Anthony” is an oil on canvas painting by the renowned surrealist artist Salvador Dali, created in 1946. Measuring 89.7 x 119.5 cm, this artwork is a religious painting that delves into the theme of temptation, and is currently housed at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. Dali’s work is noted for its contribution to the Surrealist art movement, and this particular painting embodies the distinctive style and thematic exploration that the movement is known for.
The artwork presents a desolate landscape that serves as the setting for the dramatic encounter between St. Anthony and a series of temptations. The saint is depicted in the foreground, his form emaciated and strained, with his right hand firmly grasping a cross as a symbol of faith and resistance against the seductions that assail him. His left hand appears to push away the temptations, and by his feet lies a skull, perhaps indicating the contemplation of mortality and the vanity of earthly pursuits.
Dominating the composition are the surreal, elongated creatures that represent the temptations of the saint, towering over him in a menacing parade. Starting from the left, a distorted horse with a fearsome expression leads the procession, its body exhibiting an unnatural thinness and height. The horse is followed by a parade of elephants, each standing on impossibly long, spindly legs, more reminiscent of insect limbs than those of ponderous pachyderms. The elephants carry on their backs various objects: one has an obelisk reminiscent of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s design for St. Peter’s Square in Rome, while others bear edifices that allude to grandeur, power, and the seduction of the material world.
Above this scene, the sky transitions from the calm blue of day to a tumultuous, cloudy atmosphere, adding to the feeling of internal and external conflict. In the distance, faint human figures can be seen near the water, perhaps indifferent or oblivious to the spiritual struggle taking place before them.
Salvador Dali’s work is a masterful blend of precise realism in the rendering of certain elements with fantastical and dream-like distortions, encapsulating the Surrealist endeavor to bridge the conscious and the subconscious, reality and imagination. “The Temptation of St. Anthony” stands as a testament to Dali’s artistic genius and his capacity to visually narrate a moment of intense psychological and spiritual trial.
