The Temptation of Christ by Ary Scheffer

The Temptation of Christ by Ary Scheffer depicts the dramatic encounter described in Matthew 4:1-11, where Jesus, after fasting for forty days in the wilderness, is confronted by the Devil. Scheffer captures the spiritual struggle with characteristic emotional intensity, showing Christ resisting the tempter's offers of worldly power and comfort.

This painting, held in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, is a smaller version of a larger life-size composition that Scheffer had begun but later abandoned in favour of these reduced copies. The intimate scale allows Scheffer to focus on the psychological tension between the two figures, with Christ's calm resolve contrasting with the Devil's insistent presence.

Scheffer's later works, including this one, display Symbolist tendencies, drawing inspiration from the compositional clarity and direct narrative approach of Italian Renaissance painting. The work reflects his move beyond his earlier neo-classical and Romantic phases toward a more spiritually focused style, using emotionally charged imagery to convey the gravity of the biblical encounter.