Bosch's Temptation of Saint Anthony: a fish boat, a heron ship and other wonders
Ships that are birds and a boat that is a fish. Five prints from Bosch's Lisbon triptych, and the story behind each.
Hieronymus Bosch — The Temptation of Saint Anthony, c. 1500–1510. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. The whole triptych, open.
Saint Anthony was a hermit who went into the Egyptian desert to pray, and according to his legend the devil sent visions to break his faith. Bosch painted those visions as a world gone strange around him: fish sail like boats, birds become ships, a village burns, and a feast of demons is laid out at the centre. Through it all, the saint kneels and looks out at us. The triptych hangs in Lisbon's National Museum of Ancient Art. Here are five prints Surrealium has cut from it, three of them details of the centre panel and two new close-ups.
See every print marked on the whole painting
1. The Temptation of St. Anthony: Center Panel
Hieronymus Bosch — The Temptation of St. Anthony: Center Panel. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. Surrealium print; complete composition.
The centre panel in full. The saint kneels at a ruined tower, turning to us and pointing to a small figure of Christ in the shadows. Around him, a demons' banquet, a city on fire and creatures arriving from every direction.
The heart of the triptych, dark and glowing, for a room that can carry a big statement.
2. The Heron Ship
Hieronymus Bosch — The Heron Ship. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. Surrealium print; complete composition.
High in the sky, a ship flies by with the body of a white heron, its long neck stretched forward and its sail rigged above. For a medieval viewer, a ship in the sky was a sign that the natural order had been turned upside down.
A light, surprising close-up with plenty of open sky: elegant in a portrait frame.
3. The Fish Boat
Hieronymus Bosch — The Fish Boat. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. Surrealium print; complete composition.
In the water in front of the saint, a boat built from a great fish carries a crew of strange creatures, with a red cloak draped over its back. The fish's mouth is open as if it is about to speak.
One of Bosch's most memorable creatures, set in a wide horizontal frame with calm space around it.
4. Procession
Hieronymus Bosch — Procession. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. Surrealium print; complete composition.
To the right of the saint, a procession of visions crosses the scene: a rider on a pig whose body grows into a dry branch, figures in red and blue cloaks, a man in a pointed hood. They are the temptations sent to break him.
A crowded, colourful scene full of characters to discover.
5. Beasts of the Fruit
Hieronymus Bosch — Beasts of the Fruit. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon. Surrealium print; complete composition.
In the lower left of the centre panel, creatures cross in front of the saint: a rider in a green cloak on a strange beast with a basket, a great red shape like a split fruit, a goldfinch at their feet and a figure in a tall black hat behind. Each is a small invention of its own.
Rich reds and earth colours, with Bosch's strangest animals at full size.
The Lisbon triptych rewards slow looking more than almost any painting of its time: every bridge, pond and patch of sky holds another invention. Each detail here is a museum-quality print, and the page Bosch's triptychs, detail by detail shows where each one sits.
Bosch's triptychs, detail by detail · The Surrealium Collection