Mi Buhardilla...: February 2012

The Temptations of Christ - Sandro Botticelli - 1482

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

Luke (4:1-4) – NKJV

The Temptation of Christ - Botticelli (Detail 1st Temptation)

Entonces Jesús fue llevado por el Espíritu al desierto para ser tentado por el diablo. Después de haber ayunado cuarenta días y cuarenta noches, sintió hambre. Se le acercó el tentador y le dijo:
—Si eres Hijo de Dios, di que estas piedras se conviertan en pan.
Él respondió y dijo:
—Escrito está: “No sólo de pan vivirá el hombre, sino de toda palabra que sale de la boca de Dios.”

Mateo (4:1-4) - RV 1995

Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness - Juan de Flandes - XVI c.

The Temptation of Christ - Lucas Van Leyden - 1518

The Temptation of Christ - Tintoretto - 1581

Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness - James Tissot - 1894

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Luke (4:5-8) – NKJV

The Temptations of Christ - Botticelli (Detail 2nd Temptation)

Otra vez lo llevó el diablo a un monte muy alto y le mostró todos los reinos del mundo y la gloria de ellos, y le dijo:
—Todo esto te daré, si postrado me adoras.
Entonces Jesús le dijo:
—Vete, Satanás, porque escrito está: “Al Señor tu Dios adorarás y sólo a él servirás.”
El diablo entonces lo dejó, y vinieron ángeles y lo servían.

Mateo (4:8-11) - RV 1995

The Temptation on The Mount - Duccio di Buoninsegna - 1311

Temptation of Christ - Vasily Surikov - 1872

The Temptation of Christ - Ary Scheffer - 1854

Temptation of Christ - Ilya Repin - 1801

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him,
“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Luke (4:9-13) – NKJV

Sandro Botticelli (Detail 3rd Temptation)

Entonces el diablo lo llevó a la santa ciudad, lo puso sobre el pináculo del Templo y le dijo:
—Si eres Hijo de Dios, tírate abajo, pues escrito está:
“A sus ángeles mandará acerca de ti”, y “En sus manos te sostendrán, para que no tropieces con tu pie en piedra.”
Jesús le dijo:
—Escrito está también: “No tentarás al Señor tu Dios.”

Mateo (4:5-7) - RV 1995

Satanm Tried to Tempt Christ - James Tissot - 1895

Maesta Altar Piece (Detail) - Duccio di Buonisegna - XIV c.

Notes on "The Temptations of Christ" by Sandro Botticelli:

‘The Temptations of Christ’ (1480-1482), located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome, was created by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli between 1480 and 1482 and the artists of his workshop. The fresco depicts, mainly, three episodes from the gospels with an inscription “TEMPTATIO IESU CHRISTI LATORIS EVANGELICAE LEGIS” (The Temptations of Christ, Bringer of the Evangelic Law).

In the first episode, painted on the top left corner of the fresco, features the scene in which the devil appears before Jesus Christ disguised as a hermit and tempts him to turn stones to bread. In the second episode depicted on the top of the temple pediment, the devil disguised as the hermit tells him to jump down expecting the angels to save him from death. On the right top corner Botticelli painted the third episode showing the devil falling down from a hilltop that has exposed rock faces, while Christ and some angels are watching it. Just below the first episode scene, Christ is depicted with the angels.

The bottom portion of the fresco shows a sacrificial ritual being performed by a person, possibly one of the lepers who had been healed by Christ. Moses, who gave the divine Tables of the Law, has been painted as the high priest symbolically and Christ, who was sacrificed for the sake of humanity, has been painted as a young man standing near Moses.

The Temptations of Christ is complementary work to the fresco ‘The Trials of Moses’ created by Botticelli himself at Sistine Chapel. The idea behind the project that came up in 1480 as part of a reconciliation between Pope Sixtus IV and the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici, was to draw a parallel between several episodes of Moses’ life taken from Exodus and the events in the life of Christ as a symbol of continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The work also sought to legitimize the authority of the popes of Rome, as allegedly Jesus appointed Peter, the first bishop of Rome, whose successors were the other succeeding popes of Rome.

Some details:

The Temptations of Christ - Sandro Botticelli (Detail)

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