The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Bosch)

Demons swarm the hermit Anthony from every side - flying fish, reading toads, a procession of monsters - while he kneels at the center and, undistracted, blesses the small figure of Christ standing by a crucifix in the ruined tower behind him. A village burns on the horizon; a broken bridge and a fish-shaped boat fill the foreground with nightmare. The desert father's ordeal, told in his ancient life by Athanasius, gave Bosch his perfect subject: faith holding firm while temptation takes a thousand grotesque shapes. This is the central panel of his great triptych on the theme, the fullest theater of his imagination.