Dix chose to represent the third temptation of Jesus dealing with power and riches. The "kingdoms of the world and their splendors" are symbolized with imposing structures and made attractive by bathing them in brilliant light. However, the splendors of the world are dwarfed by the two silhouettes of Satan and Christ. The towering figure of Satan is enveloping the sitting Christ in a sinister scheme of deception. Leaning heavily on the still young Messiah, he presents his deal: "I will give you all these" for an act of idolatry. However, the initial sentiment of awe and fear is slowly retreating as the true nature of Satan comes to light. Not to be taken lightly, he is after all for the sitting Christ nothing more than an unpleasant incubus or a lifeless chimera. The gesture of Christ's right hand says it all. The rejection of the devil's offer is a matter of calm and humble determination -an act of divine will in human guise. This is the meaning of Christ's gesture. His countenance in Dix's portraits of Christ, however, is never that of a radiant young God. Dix saw in Jesus Christ the anguished, miserable and ugly representative of an evil humanity. He covered with irony all those who wanted him to be a "Ballet Dancer" pirouetting on the cross of human frailty. In most of Dix's evocations of the Passion, Christ is abandoned by God and human beings, the epitome of utter loneliness and anguish.
Related scripture reading: Matthew 4:1-11
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