Getty Museum
The Temptation of Christ
Creator
Simon BeningFlemish Illuminator · 1483–1561
All works by this person →One of the most celebrated painters of Flanders in the 1500s, Simon Bening was hailed by Portuguese art critic Francisco da Hollanda as the greatest master of illumination in all of Europe. In addition to producing books for powerful aristocrats such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Bening worked for a group of international royal patrons including Emperor Charles V and Don Fernando, the Infan
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1525–1530
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf
- Culture
- Flemish
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Thinking to approach Jesus in a weakened state after his fast of forty days and forty nights, the devil tempts him in three different ways, each depicted in this miniature. In the foreground, the devil suggests that Jesus change some rocks into bread so that he can eat after forty days without food. Then, in the right background, the devil sits Christ on the pinnacle of the temple of the holy city, saying that if he is truly the son of God, he can prove it by casting himself down, since he should be protected from the fall by angels. Finally, in the middle ground to the left, the devil takes Christ to a high mountain from which all the kingdoms of the world can be seen and offers him these lands if Christ agrees to adore him. Jesus coolly refuses all of these temptations and commands the devil to leave.
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