# Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness

**Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)** (Italian, 1405–1481)  
ca. 1440  
Tempera and gold on wood  
Overall: 18 3/4 × 13 5/8 in. (47.6 × 34.6 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975.1.27. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/458967).

## About this work

Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) painted this in about 1440, aged about 30. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Gold ground.** Gold leaf laid over a red clay and burnished to a mirror shine, often tooled with punches so it flickers in candlelight. Behind sacred figures it stands for heavenly light.
- **Tempera.** Pigment bound with egg yolk. It dries in minutes and can’t be blended wet, so painters built up form with fine, hatched strokes. It was Europe’s main panel technique before oil.

### [Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/sano-di-pietro-ansano-di-pietro-di-mencio)

Italian, 1405–1481; born in Siena; died in Siena

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was about 30
- Real size: about 19 × 14 in (48 × 35 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 15th century
- Subjects: Deer, Landscapes, Saints
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1244.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1244/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/saint-anthony-the-abbot-in-the-wilderness-met-458967).