| Artist | Sandro Botticelli |
|---|---|
| Year | 1480–1482 |
| Type | Fresco |
| Dimensions | 345.5 cm × 555 cm (136.0 in × 219 in) |
| Location | Sistine Chapel, Rome |
The Temptations of Christ is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, executed in 1480–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.
Contents |
On 27 October 1480 Botticelli, together with other Florentine painters, left for Rome, where he had been called as part of the reconciliation project between Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence, and Pope Sixtus IV. The Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel as early as the Spring of 1481, along with Pietro Perugino, who was already there.
The theme of the decoration was a parallel between the Stories of Moses and those of Christ, as a sign of continuity between the Old and the New Testament. A continuity also between the divine law of the Tables and the message of Jesus, who, in turn, chose Peter (the first alleged bishop of Rome) as his successor: this would finally result into a legitimation of the latter's successors, the popes of Rome.
Botticelli, helped by numerous assistants, painted three scenes. On 17 February 1482 his contract was renovated, including the other scenes to complete the chapel's decoration. However, on 20 February, his father died: he returned to Florence, where he remained.
The scene of the Temptations of Christ depicts three episodes from the gospels, in parallel with the scene on the opposite wall, also by Botticelli, showing the Trials of Moses. The painting has a frieze with the inscription (similar to the other fresco's) saying TEMPTATIO IESU CHRISTI LATORIS EVANGELICAE LEGIS ("The Temptations of Christ, Bringer of the Evangelic Law").
Christ is portrayed in the upper left corner while meeting the devil, disguised as a hermit, who invites him to turn stones into bread. In the center, Botticelli painted Christ and the devil over to the top of temple pediment, inspired to the Hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia at Rome: the devil defies Jesus to jump down, expecting the angels will save him. On the right, Christ has the devil fall down from a rock.
The foreground shows a sacrifice rite, which has been identified as the one performed by the leprous man who had been healed by Jesus. The high priest symbolizes Moses, who transmits the Law, and the young man symbolizes Christ, who, according to the Gospel, was also sacrificed to save humanity.