What happens in this picture ?!
Don't you just hate being disturbed when you're reading a good book? This must have been how Saint Anthony felt in this picture. He's sitting there on a rock, minding his own business, having a good read and a think. And then these devils turn up.
What happens in this picture ?!
Don't you just hate being disturbed when you're reading a good book? This must have been how Saint Anthony felt in this picture. He's sitting there on a rock, minding his own business, having a good read and a think. And then these devils turn up.
anthony
They're farting, making weird noises, splashing him with water... doing their best to distract him. But Anthony just calmly keeps reading. How do we know that this is actually Saint Anthony? The artist has left a hint on the edge of the picture. The pig symbolises Anthony, so if you see a man reading with a pig, you know that’s who it is.
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This picture comes from a prayer book. It was produced around 1575 for the boss of a Belgian monastery. You might actually know the story of Saint Anthony. Jeroen Bosch and Salvador Dalí painted it, for instance. He went to a mountain in the desert so that he could pray in peace. The Devil saw this as a challenge, and decided to distract him. He didn't only try farting; he also tried dressing up as a monster and a sexy woman.