Die Versuchung des Heiligen Antonius in einer Landschaft 

This is Jonas Umbach’s “The Temptation of St. Anthony in a Landscape,” an ink drawing made sometime in the 17th century. Umbach was working during a period of immense upheaval, the Thirty Years' War, which was marked by religious conflict and widespread social change. The image plunges us into the tumultuous inner world of St. Anthony, a man grappling with his faith in the face of overwhelming temptation. What does it mean to be a man of faith when confronted by so much monstrous desire? Look at the landscape: it's not just a backdrop but a reflection of the psychological and emotional turmoil Anthony is experiencing. The grotesque figures embody the fears and desires that torment him. Are they external forces or projections of his own internal struggles? This drawing invites us to consider the fragility of human resolve when faced with our deepest, most unsettling impulses. In the end, it’s a powerful reminder of the battles we wage within ourselves.