Cranach's image of the Saint being tormented by demons in mid-air is his interpretation of Schongauer's famous - and practically unobtainable - engraving of the same subject.
Lifetime impressions of Cranach's woodcuts and engravings, such as the present one, are very rare (see also lot 25). Although Cranach's printed oeuvre is substantial and sophisticated, his print-runs must have been small. He ran a large workshop as the court painter of the Prince-Electors of Saxony in the town of Wittenberg, which Frederick the Wise had chosen as his residence and had founded a university there. Yet, compared to cities like Nuremberg or Augsburg, Wittenberg was a provincial backwater. As a result, the audience for Cranach's prints and his ability to market them were very limited. While Albrecht Dürer had a sizeable clientele of educated burghers in his hometown and beyond - Nuremberg being a large and bustling city connected to a Europe-wide trading network - Cranach's print production was mainly intended for the local Prince, his court and diplomatic relations. For the large and important woodcut The Temptation of Saint Anthony to have survived in a contemporary impression and in such good condition is thus a rare and fortunate occurrence.