Maerten de Vos (1532-1603), Episodes from the life of Saint Anthony (Altar of the Guild of Saint Anthony and Saint Hubert), ca. 1594, Oil on oak, 280 x 212 cm, KMSKA, Antwerp
Maerten de Vos was one of the leading Flemish artists of the late 16th century, working amid the religious and artistic upheaval following the Beeldenstorm (1566), which stripped Antwerp’s churches of countless artworks. This late artwork draws on the enduring Netherlandish artistic tradition while incorporating influences from his extensive Italian training.
Commissioned by the Brotherhood of Saint Anthony for their chapel in Antwerp’s Church of Our Lady, ‘The Temptation of Saint Anthony’ was part of a now-fragmented altarpiece, with lost shutters depicting Saints Rochus and Hubertus. The painting captures the saint’s legendary struggle against demonic temptation, a theme long favoured by Northern artists. De Vos, however, transforms the scene with his synthesis of Flemish precision and Italian dynamism. Standing in tense contemplation, Anthony is surrounded by grotesque creatures—distorted bodies, twisted limbs, and hybrid forms. These unsettling demons, very sexualised or bestial, reflect an established iconographic tradition visualising temptation as an assault on both body and soul.
De Vos’s approach owes much to early Netherlandish artists, notably Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516), whose visions of demonic chaos had shaped Saint Anthony’s imagery for nearly a century. Yet while Bosch’s figures evoke ambiguity and moral satire, de Vos imposes a more explicit narrative, emphasising the saint’s steadfastness amid disorder. The result is an image that bridges past and present—an expression of spiritual resilience in a time of religious and artistic crisis.
