St. Anthony, No. XXI, St. Anthony, No. XXI, 1942
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Slate
12 ¼ x 11 in (31 x 28 cm)
Dated December 1942
Collections: Elizabeth Ayrton; With Christopher Hull,1986; Julian Wannell ; Christies March 8,1991(109); Andrew Burt
Literature: Peter Cannon-Brookes Michael Ayrton-An illustrated commentary 1978 (plate 14)
Ayrton was obsessed with the story of St Anthony, the Saint tormented with demonic visions. Throughout the first half of the 1940’s he portrayed the subject in a variety of media, and on this apparently one- off occasion even used slate. He was clearly attracted to the story by the parallels he saw with his own life and the features of the saint are his own, charged with the spirituality of the Northern Artists Ayrton admired such as Durer and Grunewald. Ayrton’s large painting of St Anthony,The masterpiece of his war -time painting was bought by The Tate in 1983.