Two of the Temptations of Jesus in the Desert by Satan and Jesus served by the Angels; Master François; miniature; from St Augustine’s “La Cité de Dieu”; manuscript MMW 10 A 11; Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague.
The Temptation in the desert
Unerstand the scene
Two characters: Jesus and the devil.
Jesus is more often than not standing in front of the devil who speaks to him and points at some objects. The devil is a grinning demon covered with hairs, with forked feet and bat’s wings, but he can also hide under a more human shape, for example, by putting on a monk’s clothing.
The easiest temptation to put in image is the first one, that of the stones that can become loaves of bread. It suffices for the devil to designate a heap of stones in order to show Jesus that he can use his spiritual power to satisfy his material desires.
The second temptation, which is to test divine protection by preventing Jesus from killing himself by jumping from the top of the Temple, dissociates the two characters. Jesus stays on the ground whereas the devil is sometimes difficult to see at the top of the Temple.
For the third one, it is impossible to show the domination of the kingdoms of the earth that the devil wants to exchange for his admiration; the artist identifies them with beautiful and rich cities.
If an angel replaces the devil, this is the continuation of the narrative which indicates that the angels« served Jesus »