H. Antonius geneest de waanzin van een jonge edelman 1598

Antonio Tempesta created this engraving, H. Antonius geneest de waanzin van een jonge edelman, with etching and engraving techniques. The image depicts St. Anthony healing a young nobleman from madness, and tells us much about social attitudes towards illness in the 16th and 17th centuries. The young man’s madness is depicted as something curable through divine intervention, with St. Anthony as the conduit, as opposed to an incurable ailment. The exotic, Turkish clothing of the men holding him down suggests the fear of the Ottoman Empire in Europe at this time, and the association of madness with foreign influence. The print was made in the Netherlands at a time of great religious and political upheaval, with the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule. To understand this artwork better, scholars research medical and religious beliefs from the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as the history of the Counter-Reformation.