Fragments of a relief with the Temptation of Christ

“The devil holds a stone in his left hand, while his serpent-like tail appears to drape over his arm. In this manner, he urges the fasting Jesus to turn a stone into bread—the first of the temptations. Opposite, Jesus merely raises his right hand, a gesture typically intended to represent speech in medieval art, to indicate his reply: ‘It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God’ [Luke 4:4].” (Julia Perratore, “Two Fragments of a Relief with the Temptation of Christ,” _Glencairn Museum News_, Number 7, 2013; see External Link.)

Sources:
- Julia Perratore, “Two Fragments of a Relief with the Temptation of Christ,” _Glencairn Museum News_, Number 7, 2013.
- Jane Hayward and Walter Cahn, et al., _Radiance and Reflection: Medieval Art from the Raymond Pitcairn Collection_, exhibition catalog, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982, p. 67.