Temptations of Saint Anthony

Saint Anthony was a hermit who suffered many visitations from the Devil in various forms, not least among them female forms, tempting him to stray from his faith. I’d been wanting to do a Saint Anthony for a while but had been unable to work up a satisfactory composition. I found the solution to my compositional problem in the influence of the underwater photography of Howard Schatz. Although Anthony lived in the desert I opted for this less literal depiction as it relates the desperation of the saint. Being pulled down he has to fight for his survival. In paintings the saint is often shown with a pet pig. Here I have used the pig as a monster.

Solely as an amusement, I’ll relate a journal entry that I made at about the time that I finished this painting:
"Have I said much about my latest painting, ‘The Temptations of St. Anthony?’ A naked redhead moans into St. Anthony’s ear as she masturbates on a cross and he gets pulled beneath the water by an imp, a boar, and another woman. You know, typical Goodrich fare: redheaded girls with blood dripping from their lips with that look of innocence. I’ll tell you that as I laid next to this sleeping bosomy naked redhead with my emotions drained down to the last nerve after a drunken evening like tonight, I thought to myself ‘My God, it’s like I’ve slipped into the world of my own paintings- and it IS a nightmare.’ "

 

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