Lieven van Lathem

The Temptation of Saint Anthony
(1469), tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, silver paint, and ink on parchment
leaf: 5 x 3.5 in. (12.7 x 8.9 cm.)
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
556 x 791 (96 KB)

Editor’s Note:

This is another elusive pig. In the close up image below, the pig’ head (brown) is visible just to Saint Anthony's left.

About the Artist

Lieven van Lathem, Flemish, (c. 1430 — 1493). Van Lathem was one of the most successful illuminators in Flanders, attracting many wealthy and powerful patrons. He also collaborated with other very talented Flemish illuminators through his membership in the painter's guilds in Ghent and Antwerp.

In his works, Van Lathem is known for his use of intense colors and a painting style characterized by freshness and lyrical naturalism. In his later years Van Lathem also worked as a bookseller or making books.

The work featured here is a page from a prayer book made for the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. Prayer books - collections of prayers for private devotional use - were intended to engage the viewer in religious contemplation of both the text and images. This page of the prayer book would have faced an ornately bordered page with a Latin prayer devoted to St. Anthony.

Porkopolis