Monday, May 18, 2009

The Torment of Saint Anthony

Michelangelo, The Torment of Saint Anthony

From The Guardian:

A work of art believed to be Michelangelo's first painting, completed when he was just 12 or 13 years old, has been acquired by a museum in Texas in deal that leaves other major galleries taking notice.

The Kimbell Art Museum, based in Fort Worth, paid an undisclosed figure for The Torment of St Anthony. Though the provenance of the painting has long been disputed, expert opinion has shifted in recent months to the view that it is indeed the earliest known painting of the master...


+ image gallery, including x-rays revealing the adolescent Michelangelo's painting techniques.

The painting is dated 1487 or 88, a few years prior to Bosch's masterpiece The Garden of Earthly Delights - another favorite for, among other things, its rather wonderfully surreal depictions of demons.

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