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Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons

1470–74
Not on view
Saint Anthony gazes serenely out at the viewer as frenzied demons grab at his limbs, clothes, and hair and pound him with sticks. Schongauer depicted these imagined creatures in a remarkably convincing way. His realistic description of their scales and fur point to his direct observation of animals, yet he compiled these naturalistic details to produce some of the most fantastic and grotesque fabrications in the history of printmaking. Although this is one of Schongauer's earliest prints, it was probably his most influential: Vasari recounted that even Michelangelo made a color drawing of the work at the age of thirteen.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons
  • Artist: Martin Schongauer (German, Colmar ca. 1435/50–1491 Breisach)
  • Date: 1470–74
  • Medium: Engraving
  • Dimensions: sheet: 11 13/16 x 8 9/16 in. (30 x 21.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1920
  • Object Number: 20.5.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Virgin and Child with an Apple, Martin Schongauer German, Engraving
Virgin and Child with an Apple
Martin Schongauer
ca. 1475
The Baptism of Christ from a set of The Passion, Martin Schongauer (The Baptism of Christ) German, Wool, silk, metal thread (20 warp threads per inch, 8 per cm.), German, Alsace, possibly Strasbourg
The Baptism of Christ from a set of The Passion
Multiple artists/makers
1595
St. Andrew, Martin Schongauer German, Engraving
St. Andrew
Martin Schongauer
1470–91
Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Martin Schongauer German, Engraving
Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Martin Schongauer
ca. 1470–1474
Ornament with Owl Mocked by Day Birds, Martin Schongauer German, Engraving
Ornament with Owl Mocked by Day Birds
Martin Schongauer
1470–1491

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