''The Conversion of Saint Paul'' (or ''Conversion of Saul''), by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
painter
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
, is housed in the
Odescalchi Balbi Collection
The House of Erba-Odescalchi () and the House of Odescalchi are branches of an Italian noble family formed by the union of the Erba and Odescalchi families. The Odescalchi family was, since the election of Benedetto Odescalchi as Pope Innocent ...
of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. It is one of at least two paintings by Caravaggio of the same subject, the
Conversion of Paul
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
. Another is ''
The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus'', in the Cerasi Chapel of
Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo
, image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg
, caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo
, coordinates =
, image_size ...
.
Background
The painting, together with a ''
Crucifixion of Saint Peter'', was commissioned by Monsignor (later Cardinal)
Tiberio Cerasi
Tiberio Cerasi (1544 – May 3, 1601) was a Roman jurist and Treasurer-General to Pope Clement VIII. He is mainly known for building the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome and commissioning Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci to cre ...
, Treasurer-General to Pope Clement VIII, in September 1600. According to Caravaggio's early biographer
Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione (1566 – 30 December 1643) was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious and damaging involvement with the slightly younger artist Caravaggio and ...
, both paintings were rejected by Cerasi, and replaced by the second versions which hang in the chapel today. The dates of completion and rejection are determined from the death of Cerasi in May 1601. Baglione states that the first versions of both paintings were taken by Cardinal
Giacomo Sannessio, but another early writer,
Giulio Mancini, says that Sannessio's paintings were copies. Nevertheless, most scholars are satisfied that this is the first version of the ''Conversion of Paul''.
The painting records the moment when
Saul of Tarsus
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, on his way to Damascus to annihilate the Christian community there, is struck blind by a brilliant light and hears the voice of Christ saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?...And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice..." (
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
22:6-11). Elsewhere Paul claims to have seen Christ during a vision, and it is on this basis that he grounds his claim be recognised as an Apostle: "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (
I Corinthians
The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...
9:1).
Caravaggio biographer Helen Langdon describes the style of ''Conversion'' as "an odd blend of Raphael and clumsy rustic realism," but notes how the composition, with its jagged shapes and irrational light which picks out details for their dramatic impact, creates "a sense of crisis and dislocation
n which
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
Christ disrupts the mundane world."
Several modern commentators (including John Gash and Peter Robb) have questioned whether the rejection of the first versions of Caravaggio's two paintings was quite so straightforward as the record makes it seem, and speculate that Cardinal Sannessio may have seized the opportunity of Cerasi's unexpected death on 3 May 1601 to, in effect, seize the paintings. Certainly there is no obvious reason for the rejection, and the two second versions which replaced them were, if the surviving first version of the ''Conversion'' is a guide, (the first ''Crucifixion of Peter'' has disappeared), far more unconventional than the first.
See also
*
List of paintings by Caravaggio
The following is a list of paintings by the Italian artist Caravaggio, listed chronologically.Spike, John T. ''Caravaggio''. New York : Abbeville Press, 2001: p. 253–54
List of paintings
Footnotes
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ...
References
* John Gash, ''Caravaggio'' (2003),
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversion of Saint Paul, The
Paintings by Caravaggio
1601 paintings
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...