The Temptation of Saint Anthony

Signed.

The theme of the Temptation of Saint Anthony, a traditional favorite, continued to enjoy popularity from mid century onwards and was treated by such diverse artists as Millet (1846), Tassaert (1849 Salon), Emile Wattier (1865 Salon), Cezanne (1869), Eugene lsabey (1869 Salon), Louis Leloir (1869 Salon), Aime Morot (1881 Salon) and Paul Quinsac (1888 Salon). Fantin frequently treated the theme, beginning in the 1860s and continuing throughout his life. The first dated composition of the subject (F. 2438, Album II, p. 15, dated 26 Oct. 1868; Louvre. RF 12473) features, as here, a temptress offering a glass of champagne. In 1881 Fantin treated the subject in a pastel he sent to the Salon, subsequently reworked with oil and sent to the 1885 exhibition of Les XX (F. 1194, Musee de peinture et de sculpture, Crenoble).