Die Versuchung des hl. Antonius durch Dämonen, Salemer Altar Tafel 2

Martin Schaffner created this panel depicting the Temptation of Saint Anthony from the Salem Altar around 1517, part of a major altarpiece commission for Salem Abbey in Baden-Württemberg. The Temptation of Saint Anthony was among the most theatrically demanding subjects in northern painting, requiring the artist to populate the scene with fantastical demons and grotesque figures drawn from both medieval tradition and the influential prints of Martin Schongauer. Schaffner, the leading painter of Ulm in this period, brought considerable compositional skill to the monstrous figure inventions, combining German expressionist intensity with Renaissance clarity of space. The work now resides at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.

The panel demonstrates the artistic techniques characteristic of early sixteenth-century painting, with the careful rendering and color harmonies typical of the period's production.