Temptations of Christ by Sandro Botticelli

Where? On the North wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museums
When? 1481-1482
Commissioned by? Pope Sixtus IV
What do you see? Five different scenes.

• Top left: Jesus and the Devil stand in front of a forest of oak trees. The Devil disguises himself with a beard and holds a rosary and a pilgrim’s staff in his left hand. However, we can still recognize him by the wings of a bat and the feet of a vulture. The Devil proposes to Jesus to turn stones into bread after Jesus did not eat for 40 days.
• Top middle: Jesus and the Devil stand on top of the Temple. The Devil asks Jesus to jump from the top of the Temple as angels will catch him anyway.
• Top right: The Devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world from the top of a mountain. He promises Jesus all these kingdoms if he worships the Devil. After Jesus refused all three temptations, the Devil drops his disguise and falls from the mountain. The Angels on the top right come to help Jesus and have prepared a table with wine and bread.
• Middle left: Jesus seems to explain to the three (or four) angels behind him the ritual that is going on in the fifth scene in the foreground of this painting. The Angel with the green robe holds a lily and is probably the Archangel Gabriel.
• Foreground: A large group of people is gathered around an altar that stands in front of the Temple. Two people stand in front of the altar; the High Priest on the left and a young man dressed in white on the right. While it is not entirely clear what this scene represents (even Vasari did not know), it seems likely that they are engaged in a blood offering ritual. The High Priest dips a myrtle branch into a bowl filled with blood. It is not unlikely that the young man with the bowl represents Jesus, in the role of a priest, as all frescos on the North, South, and East wall of the Sistine Chapel depict Moses or Jesus in the central scene. Another explanation for this scene is that it represents a purification sacrifice for a man that was cured of leprosy.

Backstory: Matthew 4: 1-11 describes the temptations of Christ. After Jesus was baptized, he went into the desert to think about how he would present himself to the world. He started by not eating for 40 days, and after this period the Devil visited him and tried to tempt him in three ways, as shown in this fresco.

Surrounding frescos: The scenes on the North wall of the Sistine Chapel illustrate the life of Christ. These scenes are ordered chronologically. When you face the North wall, the first scene is depicted on the right (immediately next to The Last Judgment by Michelangelo). It illustrates the Baptism of Christ, as described in Matthew 3, and is painted by Perugino. This scene took place right before the temptations of Christ as painted by Botticelli. The third scene illustrates the Vocation of the Apostles by Ghirlandaio. This is what Jesus does right after he resisted the temptations by the Devil and this story is described in Matthew 4. 

Baptism of Christ by Perugino

Vocation of the Apostles by Ghirlandaio

Symbolism:

• The scene on the top left takes place in front of a forest with oak trees, which were the symbol of the Della Rovere family to which Pope Sixtus IV belonged.
• The top window in the Temple refers to the Virgin Mary, who, according to contemporary beliefs, would save people from being seduced by the Devil.
• The table with wine and bread on the top right refers to the Last Supper of Jesus.

Who is Botticelli? Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (1445-1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli, was born in Florence. He painted mainly religious subjects, but also some portraits and mythological subjects. Some of his best-known works include The Birth of Venus and La Primavera, which are both in the Uffizi Museum. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV asked Botticelli to come to Rome to create some frescos for the Sistine Chapel. Over the next two years, Botticelli painted three frescos in the Sistine Chapel among which the current one, Punishments of the Sons of Corah, and Youth of Moses.

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli

Youth of Moses by Botticelli

Fun fact: This fresco by Botticelli closely follows the Biblical story as described in the Gospel of Matthew. However, Botticelli made some changes to the story to please the commissioner. For example, the scene on the top left takes place in the desert according to the Bible. Botticelli, however, depicted the first temptation of Christ in front of a forest with oak trees, as the oak tree was the symbol of the Della Rovere family to which Pope Sixtus IV belonged.

​Another clear deviation from the Biblical story is the depiction of the Temple. The large building in the middle of this painting is probably a copy of the old St Peter’s Basilica. It serves both as the backdrop to the scene in the middle foreground, where it is supposed to represent the Church, and the scene on the top middle, where it should represent the Temple.

Other fun facts: Don’t forget to notice the young boy in the right foreground. He has a bunch of grapes in his hand and tries to keep it away from the small snake that is behind him. Also, to the left of the altar is a woman with a basket with two cocks or hens on top of her head, which are to be sacrificed.

Interested in a copy for yourself? Poster or canvas.

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Written by Eelco Kappe

References:

• Knutsen, Susan N. (1984), Botticelli's Sistine Frescoes, Thesis, University of Arizona.