The Temptation of St. Anthony

This 1706 Temptation of Saint Anthony at the Louvre was produced during a period of Ricci's most active European reputation, when his work was sought by French, English, and Italian patrons simultaneously. The demonic temptations that Anthony endured in the Egyptian desert — taking the form of lascivious women, frightening monsters, and abstract spiritual terrors — gave Ricci freedom to explore the supernatural and sensuous within a devotional framework. The Louvre's possession of this work in the French national collection reflects the same international circulation of Italian Baroque painting that brought Ricci's works to Vienna, London, and Paris.

The supernatural subject is rendered with vivid contrasts of light and dark, Ricci's Venetian palette lending warmth even to the demonic figures while the composition creates dynamic visual tension between the saint and his tormentors.