Without Lifting A Finger

Grunewald, Matthias (1470c.-1528) - 1512-1516 The Temptation of St. Anthony - Isenheim Altar Panel ( Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France) , a photo by RasMarley on Flickr. The "mythical sparrow-hawk" in Grunewald's Temptation of St. Anthony is the starting point for Berger's conjecture that the wounds on Grunewald's Christ are intentionally "suggestive of a bird that has had its feathers plucked." Could be, I suppose. But does this idea go against the notion that Grunewald's Christ is suffering from St. Anthony's fire? Though Berger mentions the plague and syphilis, he is silent on the disease known as St. Anthony's fire (apparently now called ergotism) and its relation to this masterpiece.

Grunewald's Crucifixion , a photo by Aidan McRae Thomson on Flickr. Was thinking about this fantastic piece today. Was thinking especially of the disease depicted: St. Anthony's Fire (see below). We saw this altarpiece in Colmar years ago. Maybe I snuck a photo or two, but I remember it being very difficult. They didn't encourage photos. [Excerpt from Stanley Meisler's "A Masterpiece Born of Saint Anthony's Fire": http://www.stanleymeisler.com/smithsonian/smithsonian-1999-09-grunewald.html ]