Temptations of Christ, 1482 by Sandro Botticelli

The Temptation of Christ was Botticelli's trial fresco for the Sistine Chapel. It was according to this work that his pay scale was set up.

Depicted in the upper section of the fresco are three scenes taken from the life of Jesus in the Gospels. The upper left episode is a meeting between the devil, in the guise of a hermit, and Christ. The upper center panel depicts the two characters struggling over a temple, and the scene on the right has Satan being overthrown from a high rocky place. In the foreground the painter has composed a scene of a sacrificial ritual in which the younger male figure stands for Christ and the priestly figure for Moses. The overall effect of the work is that it is busy with action and crowded with many persons, and each detail tells a story.

There are three temptations shown in this picture. The one on the far left is when the devil, dressed as a monk, tried to convince Christ to turn the rocks into bread proving that he was the true Son of God. The middle one is on the top if the building where the devil, again disguised as a monk, tempts Christ to cast himself down. The last temptation, on the far right, was when the devil offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world but instead, Christ cast him down into the depths. Christ, the one true God, resists all temptations and evil loses every time.