Michelangelo’s

The Torment of Saint Anthony

Joshua Minze

Uvid 10554650

HUM – 1010

T51 – 5

Visual Art Encounter

 I guess you could say that I am not much of an art fanatic. In fact, until recently I

have not really given much thought to visual art at all. However, on Sunday afternoon

October 5, 2009, my opinion on the topic of art changed. I had my first bona fide art

experience. I visited the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas to see the painting,

The Torment of Saint Anthony, by Michelangelo. For those who are not familiar with the

Kimball Art Museum, it was built in the 1970’s, and designed by the famous American

architect, Louis I. Kahn. Since its opening in 1972, the museum has won much acclaim.

Kahn is famous for his use of natural light and space, as it greatly enhances the

experience and elements of the art. I found this not only to be true, but especially

fascinating with regard to The Torment of Saint Anthony. Discovered just last summer,

the painting is believed to be Michelangelo’s very first, completed when he was only 12

or 13 years old. It is also only one of only four known panel paintings to have ever been

created by Michelangelo.

I acquired some background information on Michelangelo and his painting, which

made his art even seem more appealing to me. The year was 1487 or 1488, and

Michelangelo was a young boy who was interested in art. He and his friend Francesco

hatched a plan for Michelangelo to paint a scene on a wood panel to prove to his father

that he had the makings of an artist. Like many boys his age Michelangelo loved

monsters so he made them the stars of his first painting, The Torment of Saint Anthony,

which he copied from an engraving by Martin Schongauer similarly titled, Saint Anthony

Tormented by Demons. As he painted with oil and tempera on a poplar panel

measuring 47cm x 34cm, Michelangelo was very focused on details. Unlike the original
engraving by Schonguer, Michelangelo’s painting is filled with profound colors and a

background landscape to create a sense of depth. He even went to a local fish market

to study the fish scales so he could accurately portray them on one of the monsters in

his painting.

Michelangelo’s, The Torment of Saint Anthony was created just as the Medieval

time period was coming to an end. The world was experiencing a paradigm shift into the

Renaissance, and art was beginning to become three-dimensional and much more life-

like. Michelangelo used the elements of color, shape, and form to bring his very first

painting to life. The original late-medieval style engraving that Schonguer created

seemed to have much room for improvement in Michelangelo’s eyes. The German

artist was considered to be one of the greats, but Michelangelo used a combination of

lavish colors and inharmonious shapes to better capture his audience. He placed the

demons in a circular position and used a restricted, but unique color palette. As he

painted, he labored over the details – one monster’s tufts of mud-brown hair, another’s

black spiny back; a set of crimson wings and a scorpion – like tail. He gave one demon

the ferocious teeth of a dog and lascivious scarlet lips. On another creature, he painted

an anteater’s pink snout and a belly covered with the silvery scales of a fish. (Molarsky

2009) The scarlet red, dark green, lavender, and shiny black monsters are energizing

to the composition and seem to give it a powerful presence. He painted Saint Anthony

and his attackers in a clockwise motion, and they appear as if they have been cut and

pasted, floating over a peaceful background. Michelangelo contrasts the vibrant colors

of his monsters with the tranquil colors of the background to give his masterpiece more

intensity than Schonguer’s original.

 Michelangelo’s work of art also displays a great deal of texture and medium.

Although you cannot see this by looking at a print of The Torment of Saint Anthony, the

original painting has a rough textured appearance. Experts have said that Michelangelo

made many changes before completing the painting that we see today. He redrew

shapes, refined elements and even scraped away paint to sharpen lines. (Molarsky

2009) The paint, thick and glossy in some areas, gave The Torment an interesting

appeal. As I admired the painting, the demons encircling Saint Anthony appeared to

“pop” off the canvas at me. The scrape marks and pronounced brush strokes in

combination with the museum’s lighting gave the painting a shiny, raised look. As I was

staring at the work I noticed that I was mesmerized by each of the demons and all of

their unique details. I did not even notice the background of the painting at first, as my

eyes seemed to stay in this main focal area. I wondered, “Did Michelangelo want to

portray that these monsters were flying off with Saint Anthony? Were they dragging him

off the cliff?” I guess my own assumptions will have to suffice.

Overall, I found my experience with the newly discovered Michelangelo painting

to be enlightening. I will have to admit that going to the Kimball Art Museum to analyze

art didn’t strongly appeal to me at first. After I unenthusiastically went and viewed The

Torment of Saint Anthony I felt prompted to dig up more information on it. I was

shocked and intrigued by the painting’s small size and colorful canvas. Also, knowing

that the work was Michelangelo’s first ever known painting was awesome. I was

expecting something completely different. After reading the literature that the Kimball

had on the painting I was intrigued, and wanted to find out more about this new

treasure. It was then when I realized that art no longer seemed so boring to me. I was
able to use the elements of art that I learned in class to examine and to better

understand the work of a true genius.

 Bibliography

Molarsky, Mona (2009). Michelangelo painted The Torment of Saint Anthony at age 12.
Retrieved October 2009, from NY City Life Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-907-
NY-Life-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Michelangelo

Pilkington, Ed (2009). Texas museum acquires work believed to be Michelangelo’s first

painting. Retrieved October 2009, from guardian.co.uk:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009may/13/art-michelangelo-torment-saint-
anthony