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| First Temptation of Christ From Livre d'images de Madame Marie Flemish (Hainaut), 1285-1290 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 28v |
"Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert
for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread."
Jesus answered him,
"It is written, One does not live on
bread alone."
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single
instant.
The devil said to him,
"I shall give to you all this power and
glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship
me."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"It is written:
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve."
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is
written:
He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a
stone."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the
test."
When the devil had finished every
temptation,
he departed from him for a time.”
Luke 4:1-13,
Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent, Year C
March 10,
2019
Each year
the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent presents us with a reading about the
temptation of Jesus by the devil, immediately following his Baptist in the Jordan
by Saint John the Baptist. The Devil
noticed the events surrounding the Baptism, the intervention of the Holy Spirit
and the voice from Heaven and his attention became focused on this previously
unknown young man from what had seemed an ordinary background. Seizing the moment, he set to work with some
serious temptations.
The earliest
of the three Synoptic Gospels, that of Mark, gives us only a bare mention of
the temptation event. The other two are
more detailed, although they reverse the order of the second and third
temptations, but are united in the nature of the first one. The first temptation is that of changing
stones to bread. This would demonstrate power over the natural world, but is
something that a mere magician might be able to do. The second (following Saint Luke) is to
assume worldly political power, a fairly ordinary temptation, but well within
the reach of Satan to gift to the tempted one.
The third is much more subtle, it is a temptation to demonstrate power
over spiritual things, for angels are pure spirit and not of this world. If someone were to succumb to this temptation
that person would have to be a very strong commander of spiritual things, in
fact, they would have to be the Son of God.
Wisely Jesus refuses to accept any of the challenges, but instead rebukes the Devil for asking them, reminding him of some major truths, such as only God is worthy of service and only the Word of God can satisfy the soul.
Wisely Jesus refuses to accept any of the challenges, but instead rebukes the Devil for asking them, reminding him of some major truths, such as only God is worthy of service and only the Word of God can satisfy the soul.
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| The Temptations of Christ From the Drogo Sacramentary French (Metz), Middle of the 9th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9428, fol. 41r |
The episode
has been a popular one for illustrators of the Bible ever since the middle ages;
and the changing ways in which the Devil has been portrayed can tell us
something about the anxiety level of those who painted and viewed them
regarding their expectations of what they were faced with in their own times of
temptation.1
Initially,
the earliest illustrations I could find present the tempter as a human being or
a fallen angel, following the still surviving ideas of classical antiquity
which dominated the first 1,000 of Christian art. 2
 |
| The Baptism and Temptations of Christ From the Gospel Book of Otto III German (Reichenau), c. 1000 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 4453, fol. 31v |
This
remained true for Byzantine art as well and for what we now call Romanesque
art.
 |
| The Temptations of Christ Byzantine, 1100-1150 Venice, Basilica of San Marco |
 |
| Basilius, The Temptations of Christ From the Melisande Psalter Latin Kingdom (Jerusalem), c. 1131-1143 London, British Library MS Egerton 1139, fol. 4 |
However,
around the year 1100, at the beginning of the second Christian millennium, an
element of fantasy entered into people’s ideas about how this tempter should
look. He began to morph into the demon
we all know from the traditional culture’s idea of the devil. He developed claw-like feet, sometimes a
grotesque face, modeled on some ferocious animal, he grew horns and sprouted a
tail. By the year 1200 he had become a
creature of our nightmares.
And then things changed again. While still retaining his new characteristics he began to be domesticated. No one can convince me that the benignly cartoonish "pet" devils found in manuscripts dating from the first half of the thirteenth century were about to frighten anyone. More likely they were a cause for amusement to the users of the books that featured them.
 |
| Capital with the First Temptation of Christ French, 12th Century Chauvigny, Church of Saint Pierre |
 |
| First Temptation of Christ From the Psalter of Christina of Markyate (The Saint Albans' Psalter) English (St. Alban's), c. 1124-1145 Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, p. 33 |
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| Temptations of Christ Spanish (Castille-Leon), 1st Half of the 12th Century, possibly 1129-1134 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection |
 |
| Capital with the First Temptation of Christ French, c.1150 Saulieu, Church of Saint Androche |
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| First Temptation of Christ From Miniatures of the Life of Christ French (Corbie), c. 1170-1180 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 44, fol. 5v |
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| The Temptations of Christ and Christ Ministered to by Angela From a Picture Bible French (St. Omer, Abby of St. Bertin), c. 1190-1200 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 12v |
And then things changed again. While still retaining his new characteristics he began to be domesticated. No one can convince me that the benignly cartoonish "pet" devils found in manuscripts dating from the first half of the thirteenth century were about to frighten anyone. More likely they were a cause for amusement to the users of the books that featured them.
 |
| First and Second Temptations of Christ From a Psalter-Hours French (Paris). c. 1228-1234 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 153, fol. 18v |
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| Third Temptation of Christ From a Psalter-Hours French (Paris). c. 1228-1234 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 153, fol. 19r |
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| Baptism of Christ and First Temptation From a Psalter English (Oxford), c. 1240 London, British Library MS Arundel 157, fol. 5 |
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| Second and Third Temptations of Christ From a Psalter English (Oxford), c. 1240 London, British Library Arundel 157, fol. 6 |
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| Third Temptation of Christ From the Psalter-Hours of Yolande of Soissons French, c. 1280-1299 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 729, fol. 39v |
While this type of relatively harmless devil existed into the fourteenth century, another image began to appear. This devil was still grotesque, but considerably more threatening. He was most often portrayed as a dark, sometimes even black figure with wings. Perhaps the terrible experience of the Black Death, which led to the death of some many people in the middle of the century, contributed to the darkened mood and tone. This may not be the entire explanation, however, as the trend had begun in the early years of the century, well before the arrival of the plague.
 |
| Duccio, Third Temptation of Christ Italian, c. 1308-1311 New York, Frick Collection |
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| Queen Mary Master, The Temptations of Christ From the Queen Mary Psalter English, c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 191 |
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| Giovanni di Benedetto and Workshop, First Temptation of Christ From a MissalItalian (Milan), c. 1385-1390 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 747, fol. 305v |
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| Lorenzo Ghiberti, Temptation of Christ Italian, c. 1401-1424 Florence, Baptistry, North Doors |
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| Temptations of Christ From the Ottheinrich-Bibel German (Regensburg), 15th-16th Century Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek MS Hss Cgm 8010(1), fol. 29
In this interesting illustration the devil appears first in the guise of an old man. For the second and third temptations he has shed his disguise. |
 |
| Bedford Master and his Workshop, First Temptation of Christ From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1430-1435 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 359, fol. 50v In this series of three separate scenes, the devil appears as a human figure only in the first. |
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| Bedford Master and his Workshop, First Temptation of Christ From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1430-1435 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 359, fol. 51r |
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| Bedford Master and his Workshop, First Temptation of Christ From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1430-1435 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 359, fol. 52r |
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| Master of Schloss Lichtenstein, First Temptation of Christ Austrian, c. 1445-1450 Vienna, Belvedere Museum |
Other artists continued to present the by now traditional grotesque figure.
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| The First Temptation From the Lisle Hours English, c. 1316-1331 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS G 50, fol. 18v |
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| Limbourg Brothers, Second Temptation From the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry Flemish, c. 1416 Chantilly, Musée Condé _ MS 65, fol. 161v |
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| Claes Brouwer, The Temptations of Christ From a History Bible Dutch (Utrecht), c.1430 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 78 D 38II, fol. 150r |
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| Hans Strigel the Elder, First Temptation of Christ German, c. 1443 Gestratz (DEU), Catholic Parish Church of Saint Gallus |
As artists began to develop more naturalistic styles of painting, they began to depict the natural world as well. Some of what they painted may seem to our eyes to be very little like a desert, but one should remember that the word which our modern translations present as “desert” has also often been translated as “wilderness”. Since most Europeans had never seen a true desert, or even much in the way of arid lands, they interpreted the wilderness as they experienced it.
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| Master of the Passion Sequences, The Temptations of Christ German, c. 1430-1435 Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum |
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| Israhel van Mechenem the Younger, First and Second Temptations of Christ German, c. 1450-1500 Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kupferstich-Kabinett |
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| Rambures Master, The First Temptation of Christ, with the Temptation of Esau and the Temptation of Adam and Eve From a Biblia pauperum French (Hesdin or Amiens), c. 1470 The Hague, Meermano Museum MS MMW 10 A 15, fol. 25v
This triple image combines the Temptation of Christ (Under Grace) with temptations from the Old Testament. On the left, Jacob tempts Esau with a bowl of porridge, which the hungry Esau exchanges for his birthright as first born son (Under the Law). On the right Adam and Eve are tempted to commit the original sin (Before the Law). The three fold division of time into periods Before the Law, Under the Law and Under Grace was a way of understanding salvation history which was typical of the middle ages, but which was running out of steam by this late date. |
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| Master Francois, First and Third Temptations From the City of God by St. Augustine of Hippo French (Paris), c. 1475 The Hague, Meermano Museum MS MMW 10 A 11, fol. 423r |
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| Master of Philippe of Guelders, First Temptation From a Psalter French (Paris), c. 1490-1503 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 934, fol. 223r |
The dichotomy between the grotesque devil figure and the more sinister, apparently human, figure persisted throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
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| Juan de Flandres, First Temptation Hispano-Flemish, c.1500-1504 Washington, National Gallery of Art |
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| Wood Panel with the First Temptation French, Early 16th Century New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection |
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| Style of Patinir, First and Second Temptations Flemish, c. 1500 Upton House, near Banbury (UK), National Trust
Although the focus is on the first confrontation of Jesus and the devil, the second temptation is included. There are two tiny figures visible at the top of the very steep precipice in the left middle ground. |
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| First Temptation From a Breviary French (Southern), c. 1506-1516 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 8, fol. 69v |
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| Master of St. Severin, The Temptations of Christ German (Lower Rhine), c.1520-1521 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Dirk Jakobszoon Vellert, The First Temptation Dutch, 1525 Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kupferstich-Kabinett |
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| Simon Bening, The Temptations of Christ From the Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg Flemish (Bruges), c.1525-1530 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum MS Ludwig IX 19, fol. 62v |
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| Anonymous Flemish Painter, The First Temptation Flemish, c. 1570 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
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| Pieter Stevens, The First and Second Temptations of Christ Flemish, c. 1594 Budapest, Szépmûvészeti Múzeum
The second temptation is seen at the very top of the image.
|
However, by the dawn of the seventeenth century the presentation of the devil as a man, sometimes even as a religious personage, such as a hermit, or as a fallen angel became the primary image.
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| Tintoretto, The First Temptation Italian, 1579-1581 Venice, Scuola Grande di San Rocco |
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| Paolo Veronese, The Baptism of Jesus and the First Temptation Italian, 1582 Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera |
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| Raffaello Pagni, Christ Vanquishing the Devil After the Last Temptation Italian, 1595 Pisa, Church of Santa Maria Assunta |
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| Denis van Alsloot and Hendrick de Clerck, The Baptism of Christ and the First Temptation Dutch, 1600-1630 Vienna, Liechentenstein Museum |
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| Jan Brueghel the Elder, The First Temptation Flemish, c. 1600 Private Collection |
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| Johann Koenig, The First Temptation German, c. 1600 Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, The First Temptation Flemish, c. 1620 London, Courtauld Gallery |
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| Paul Bril, The First Temptation Flemish, 1626 Birmingham (UK), Birmingham Museums Trust |
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| David Teniers the Elder, The First Temptation Dutch, c. 1630 Private Collection |
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| Philips Augustijn Immenraet, The First Temptation Flemish, 1663 Warsaw, Museum of the John Paul II Collection |
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| Eglon van der Neer, Landscape with the First Temptation Dutch, c. 1698-1703 Munich, Alte Pinakothek |
This has remained the case since that time, although the setting for the narrative is often more realistic (or more abstract) than in earlier images.
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| Willilam Blake, The Final Temptation-of-Christ English, c. 1805 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Wiles Maddox, The First Temptaion English, 1844 Bath (UK), Beckford's Tower Museum |
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| Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld, The Second Temptation German, 1847 Vienna, Belvedere Museum |
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| Ary Scheffer, The Third Temptation French, 1849-1854 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Carl Heinrich Bloch, The Final Temptation Danish, 1850 Copenhagen, Frederiksborg Palace, Chapel |
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| Giulio Masnaga, The Second Temptation Wood Intarsia Italian, 1877-1880 Alzano Lombardo, Church of San Martino |
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| James Tissot, The First Temptation French, 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
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| James Tissot, The Third Temptation French, 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
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| Otto Dix, The Second Temptation German, 1948 Vaduz (LIE), Otto Dix Stiftung |
For those
who have come after them, it is probably correct to say that they feel a
reasonable fear of the devil, of evil itself, not as a grotesque figure, but as
something far more serious, a proximate threat to virtue. Something so close to daily life that it is
hardly noticeable as a threat. And,
surely, that is how the devil is presented in the reading for this Sunday. He is able to speak with Christ, in terms that
tempt with attractive propositions “Show me who you are. Make these stones turn into bread, seize
political power, demonstrate your power over the angels.” But, ultimately the power of the devil is an
illusion, for what reward can he actually give to Christ, or to anyone who
accedes to the whispered allurements and promptings. After the temporary satisfaction, there is
only emptiness and darkness.
©
M. Duffy, 2019
________________________________________________________________
- I will not be dealing, in this article, with one of the most famous images of the Temptations of Christ. This most famous painting, by Sandro Botticelli, is one of the series of scenes from the lives of Christ and of Moses which decorate the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel. They were commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, the builder of the chapel and the person for whom it is named. They were painted in the 1480s by several artists, who were working at the same time so as to speed the work. However, in spite of the variety of artists, there was a definite program in place that dictated the subjects to be presented and may, to some extent, have also dictated the way in which the pictures were composed. The program is presumed to be the work of Pope Sixtus himself and that is about where the agreement among scholars ends. In recent decades several different interpretations for the decoration as a whole has been proposed. In addition, the Temptations of Christ is particularly enigmatic and several different interpretations for what it actually depicts have been proposed. I am not terribly convinced by any of them. So, I have decided not to include this painting at this time.
- There may be others that are earlier, although the two earliest manuscript New Testaments that I know of do not illustrate this subject.
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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