The Torment of Saint Anthony

What it is

This oil and tempera painting is attributed to Michelangelo, made around 1487–1488 when he was about twelve or thirteen, during his apprenticeship under Domenico Ghirlandaio. It copies an engraving by Martin Schongauer showing Saint Anthony tormented by demons in the desert. It is now in the Kimbell Art Museum.

Why it matters

If genuinely by Michelangelo, this is his earliest surviving work. The biographer Giorgio Vasari recorded that Michelangelo painted a copy of Schongauer's print, and another early writer, Ascanio Condivi, noted Michelangelo studied fish scales at a market to add realistic detail not found in the original engraving. The painting shows how young artists learned by closely copying and improving on existing works.

Look closer

• What details did the young artist add that are not in the original engraving?
• Why do experts still disagree about whether this painting is really by Michelangelo?
• What might copying another artist's work teach a young painter?