I. Art Elements
Line ― Throughout this painting, outlines have been used to define the shapes of St. Anthony himself, the demons that attack him, and the landscape around them. In general, the lines seem to emphasize a vertical direction (perhaps because the attack depicted is taking place in midair). The lines of St. Anthony and the lines of the demons are different in such a way as to pertain to the character of each subject; St. Anthony is painted in smooth, flowing lines as if to emphasize his gentleness, his humanity; the demons are rendered in harsh, jagged lines, right down to the jagged clubs that some of them wield. The jagged lines of the demons almost seem to attack the viewer. Meanwhile, in the midst of the attack, St. Anthony gazes into the distance without expression even though the demons, judging the diagonal lines in some of them, are trying their best to pull him apart.
Shape ― The main shapes in the foreground of the painting are organic and vaguely humanoid, but in a more general sense (including the landscape as well as the subjects), there are mainly triangles pointing upward (perhaps to emphasize the vertical direction, as well as the jagged lines of the demons), and at least one mostly rectangular form (look closely at St. Anthony himself). The rectangular outline of St. Anthony could be to show uprightness, his resolute strength in the face of this attack. As though to further emphasize strength, St. Anthony is much larger than any one of the demons attacking him. Furthermore, he is beautiful while the demons, by contrast, are grotesquely inhuman (some of them even resemble animals in certain respects).
Space ― The main form (St. Anthony and the demons) takes up most of the picture, as it is what the viewer should be focusing the most on. As a result, there isn’t much empty or negative space. The picture is flat, almost even seeming to project backwards instead of forwards, as atmospheric perspective shows a gradual fading of color and size into the distance, and with some layering; the demons are before St. Anthony, who is in front of the landscape, and so on.
Light ― There is no depicted source of light in the painting – it is loosely implied instead. The shadows, depicted through color, are more or less true to life (the demons could have had starker shadows to them to further emphasize their evil, for example). While the shadows overall are relatively true to life, the demons do have more shadows than St. Anthony to some degree (to show their “darkness”).
Color ― The most dominant colors are blue (from the atmospheric perspective of the landscape/sky), and the combination of red and green (opposites on the color wheel, to highlight the discordant nature of the demons). The cooler, more subdued colors of the landscape and St. Anthony versus the bright, contrasting warmer colors of the demons (primarily the red) makes the demons stand out all the more as something wrong with the scene.
Texture ― The actual texture of the painting is relatively smooth, but the implied texture varies (the demons are supposed to be sharp and jagged, but the whole painting is not like this).
Balance ― There is actually a relative symmetry to the attack – the demons almost form a circle around St. Anthony. Also, they are depicted in bright colors while St. Anthony, by contrast, is depicted in more drab colors (black and almost white – his golden halo is the most colorful thing on him). In additional contrast, the demons are done in harsh, jagged, lines while St. Anthony is done in smoother, more flowing lines.
Emphasis ― The emphasis of the work is the attack itself (it takes up most of the painting), but the emphasis of the attack is St. Anthony at its center. The viewer’s eye is drawn to him, particularly to his face, as it is the lightest colored point in the picture.
Rhythm ― The most repeated pattern is that of straight, harsh, jagged points on the demons – their spines, their teeth, their horns, and so on. It adds some intensity to them, as if to make them seem even more unnatural and frightening. However, there are also the smoother lines of St. Anthony and the landscape around them to consider. The overall contrast most likely is to show just how much the demons do not belong in the scene.
III. Media and Technique
Painting ― The two-dimensional painting is a mix of oil and tempera paints. Oil paints can dry at different speeds (depending on how thick they are), but the fast-drying nature of the tempera probably forced Michelangelo to paint relatively quickly and allowed little time to make any changes. In spite of such pressure, it was possible to create all manner of different lines and textures (from the smooth lines of St. Anthony to the jagged lines, horns, and scales of the demons). At one time, the painting probably had a glossy finish (some oil paints had varnishes in them), but the painting was more recently cleaned of aging, yellowed varnish to reveal the richer colors and details underneath. Oil and tempera paints withstand age relatively well, but they do deteriorate after a while and, as such, museums keep paintings of such media in very delicate, controlled conditions to preserve them.
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