Temptation of St. Anthony

Ellen Auerbach, a modernist photographer who was active on both sides of the Atlantic, created works characterized by inventive exploration of new techniques and visual effects. She made this unique carbro print after fleeing Nazi Germany and eventually settling in the United States. The complex carbro process involved the meticulous layering of three different colored emulsions, which enhanced the uncanny juxtaposition of a reclining female nude and a city street in this modern interpretation of the temptation of St. Anthony. The life of the fourth-century ascetic, who was severely tested by worldly things and the weaknesses of the flesh, was a timeless subject that appealed to Auerbach and resonated with Surrealist painters, including Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst.