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The Lisbon Triptych
T
he pre-eminent treatment of the Temptation of Saint Anthony theme by Hieronymus Bosch is found on the triptych now in the National Art Museum of Lisbon. There is some confusion as to whether the painting was presented as a royal gift from Philip II to the king of Portugal, or whether it was purchased from Philip’s collection by a Portuguese painter. By whatever means, it is known to have entered Portugal between the years 1525 and 1545. When closed, the altarpiece is approximately four square feet (1.2 metres) in size, slightly larger in height than in width. It is nearly eight feet (2.4 metres) in width when the panels are opened out. The exterior surfaces of the panels are painted in grisaille, giving an unearthly appearance to the Passion episodes presented thereon. Christ is centred in each panel, and backed by frenzied mobs in such a way that the main action in both paintings is concentrated in the upper registers. The minor episodes, set in the foreground areas, are isolated by space. There is no coherence of action from one scene to another, but there does seem to be a continuity of setting. The stream that separates foreground from middle ground is continuous, as is the band of darkened land seen behind the two mobs. There is a difference in time of action, however, as the sky is dark in one scene and light in the other. The left panel depicts the arrest of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Lord, fallen to his knees, submits to the taunts of the crowd, delivered with gesticulation and facial contortion. A soldier handles the girdle of the Master as if it were a harness. He kicks at Christ from behind. A man in front, participating in this terrible game, pulls Christ forwards by tugging at the girdle strings. There is the illusion of chaotic action as the figures in the forefront of the crowd turn and bend in all directions. The impression of a dinning noise is conveyed as men clash weapons, blow horns, and open their mouths in outcry. In the background of the crowd, individual figures dissolve into a many-headed Hydra. Below the stream, Saint Peter raises his sword to cut off the ear of Malchus, whose belongings lie about him in disarray. The only observers to the scene are a man turning his back, as if in cowardice – and the ravens idling on the ground. The right panel, depicting Christ Carrying the Cross, shows the Master fallen under the weight of the cross. This mob (constructed of different personages than the one on the left) is momentarily stilled to await the Cyrene’s assistance to Christ. Saint Veronica displays the sudarium, which has received the miraculous transfer of the Lord’s face. In the foreground of this scene are the two thieves: the penitent one listening to the earnest entreaties of a confessor, and the impenitent one hearing, but not heeding, the advice proffered to him. The presentations are somewhat unorthodox in setting, with parched earth and curious laminations of the land. The accoutrements assembled here are not those of any traditional precedence. There is a chalice elevated upon a hillock. A rat hangs suspended upside-down
The Temptation of Saint Anthony (triptych, central panel), 1505-1506. Oil on panel, 131.5 x 119 cm. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon.
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