Flaubert, Gustave. La Tentation de Saint Antoine [“The Temptation of Saint Anthony.”]

(SZYK, ARTHUR)

Societe d'Editions et de Librarie Henri Reynaud

Paris

1926

Number 22 of 30 copies printed on Japon. With 20 pochoir illustrations by Szyk with a stencil drawing below each image. * Includes an additional complete set of the illustrations, laid into a chemise

The Temptation of St. Anthony, written by Gustave Flaubert, was a story originally inspired by a painting at the Balbi Palace in Genoa. Szyk's style of illustrations here, abstract, dreamy, and contemplative, relate beautifully to the subject of the work, St. Anthony, who was considered to be the father of the Ascetic movement in early Christianity. Szyk's illustrations for the book were produced through a process known as "pochoir," a technique which uses multiple stencils to add each color within the image. Due to the painstaking process required to produce these illustrations, La Tentation de Saint Antoine was an expensive production in its time. See J.P. Ansell, Arthur Szyk p.46