Isenheim Altarpiece Front
The Isenheim Altarpiece is an altarpiece sculpted and painted by the Germans Nikolaus Hagenauer and Matthias Grünewald in 1512– 1516. It is on display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, in France. It is Grünewald's largest work and is regarded as his masterpiece. Long admiring Grunewald, Terrance Lindall painted a variation of one of the panels, namely “The Temptation of St. Anthony” in 1974. The common medieval subject, included in the Golden Legend and other sources, shows Saint Anthony being tempted or assailed in the desert by demons, whose temptations he resisted. The Golden Legend (Latin: Legenda aurea or Legenda sanctorum) is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.[1] It was probably compiled around 1259 to 1266, although the text was added to over the centuries.[2][3] The Martin Schongauer composition (copied by Michelangelo) probably shows a later episode where St. Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by angels, was ambushed and attacked in mid-air by devils.
The Temptation by Michaelangelo
Variation of Grunewald’s Temptation by Lindall, 1974
Grunewald’s Version
About Saint Anthony: Tormented by Demons. This panel depicts Saint Anthony being tormented by monstrous creatures sent by Satan. Trampled to the ground, beaten with sticks, torn by claws and bitten, Saint Anthony appeals to God for help who sends angels to combat these evil demons. Lindall used his own surreal creatures to depict this. So it is not a copy in any sense. The painting was shown to John Workman an American editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and letterer in the comic book industry. He was an important figure working at Heavy Metal Magazine. He is known for his frequent partnerships with writer/artist Walter Simonson and also for lettering the entire run of Grant Morrison/Rachel Pollack's Doom Patrol (DC Comics). The Lindall painting hung in John's office for several months while Lindall illustrated for Heavy Metal and other magazines and book publishers, notable his Paradise Lost in Heavy Metal, now in major collections. Lindall sold the painting to an antique dealer named Howard on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Since it was sold 50 years ago, it has passed through many hands and ended up in Santa Fee, New Mexico. Now the painting has come home and is in the Yuko Nii Foundation collection.