(Belluno 1659–1734 Venice)
The Temptation of Saint Anthony,
oil on canvas, 85 x 120 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Modena;
Sale, Sotheby’s, London, 14 April 2011, lot 173
(sold for c. 63,650 GBP)

Literature:
A. Scarpa, Sebastiano Ricci, Milan 2006, p. 248, no. 295, p. 506, ill. 320 Sebastian Ricci’s mastery is displayed in this painting primarily in the free, fluid brushwork and in the skillful use of light reflections. The influence of Alessandro Magnasco is unmistakable and the figures approximate those of Magnasco in an impressive manner, but are imaginatively developed further by the artist. Ricci was inspired by the innovative imagery of Magnasco, seven years his junior, above all, by his fantastic drama-laden scenes in which the human figure is rendered in an uncanny atmosphere, with subtle light effects. Anthony, who lives as a hermit, is tormented by demons and grotesque creatures in the dark, but can resist the temptations through prayers and his strong faith.

Ferdinando de’ Medici held the free style of painting and grotesque motifs in high esteem, as can be gleaned from his letters, and it cannot be ruled out that, in the course of his stay in Florence, Ricci tried to meet the wishes of his patron.
Sebastiano Ricci frequently took up the pictorial theme, for instance, in the Temptation of Saint Anthony, in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (see A. Scarpa Sonnino, Sebastiano Ricci, Milan 2006, p. 298, no. 434, plate XXXI), with figures drawn by Ricci and the landscape by Peruzzini. Here, one can find demon figures and Satan in the form of a dragon skeleton, as well as a centaur with a tambourine. These motifs can be also found in Ricci’s paintings in the Porro Collection, Milan, with a landscape by Peruzzini and in Munich, Alte Pinakothek (see A. Scarpa, ibid., 2006, p. 239, no. 275, ill. p. 431, no. 143 and p. 248, no. 296, ill. p. 431, no. 145). Another comparable painting was auctioned at Sotheby’s, New York, on 29 January 2015 as lot 94.