Temptation of Christ Juan Flandes
The Temptation of Christ, also known as Jesus and the Tempter, by Juan de Flandes (1500). Oil on panel
Juan de Flandes was a Flemish painter active in Spain from 1496 to 1519. Little is known about him, even his actual name is unknown, and the one he is known for, is quite a generic name in Spain. His twenty-three years in Castilla are sparsely documented and only known through contracts and official records. The panels have been dispersed and the largest number of panels is in the royal collection in Madrid, from which, The Temptation of Christ, is one of the surviving panels of the polyptych.
The devil in Juan de Flandes' painting wears clerical garb and carries rosary beads, a clear contemporary reference to the new rosary practices, which carried with them the promise of remission of punishment for confessed sins through indulgences.
This fashioning of the devil as an active, practicing cleric was a popular motif in Temptation-themed art of the period. What it signifies is less clear; does the rosary indicate that, with Mary's intercession and Christ's grace, even the devil can be saved? Or is it a less benign fashioning, indicating that the devil is very clever and can disguise himself in the garb of the faithful?
Pope Sixtus IV, a Franciscan who served from 1472-1484, also encouraged praying the rosary through papal bulls and indulgences.
Another interpretation of this painting is also possible, and perhaps dually present. Some scholars saw a parallel in the New Testament text of Jesus' temptation with Moses' visits to Mount Sinai, which lasted 40 days. Jesus' time in the Wilderness is also a parallel to the Israelite's wanderings, per the 40 years and the appearance of bread/manna. Note the horns on the head of the figure of the devil -- horns were a sign for Moses, as indicated in the Vulgate version of the Old Testament story, Exodus 34:29-35.
The Devil, disguised as a bearded friar, (although with horns and a tail) offers the hungry Jesus a loaf of bread (or a stone to be transformed into bread) which he refuses. Another depiction can be found in Pascual Pérez: The Temptations of Christ in the Desert, inside the Cathedral of Santa Fe.
The panel is made of a single piece of wood. All four corners are slightly worn and chipped. There are nicks in the center of all four sides, probably resulting from the way the painting was mounted at some point. The painted surface is bordered by a gold band, which seems to be original.
This image is a public domain image, which means either that copyright has expired in the image or the copyright holder has waived their copyright. Franciscan Gallery charges for the access to high resolution copy of the image. Manually restoration was necessary in order to improve quality, without covering the original image.
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