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

SZYK, ARTHUR.

Societe d'Editions et de Librarie Henri Reynaud

Paris

1926

One of 250 numbered copies. With 20 pochoir illustrations by Szyk.

The Temptation of St. Anthony, written by Gustave Flaubert, is 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 painstaking process known as “pochoir,” a technique which uses multiple stencils to add each color within the image. See J.P. Ansell, Arthur Szyk: Artist, Jew, Pole (2004) p. 46.