Spanish school; 17th century.

Spanish school; 17th century.
"The Conversion of St. Paul".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 43 x 95 cm.
In this work the painter builds a wide and expressive scenography to present the theme of the conversion of St. Paul. Unlike what is more usual in schools such as the Spanish, the figures are small, and the saint appears surrounded by a multitude of characters. Nevertheless, the importance of the theme is not lost, given that in the turbulent sky appears the figure of the risen Christ, from which a great ray of divine light starts, guiding our gaze towards the saint, fallen to the ground.
The painting is inspired by the original model by Rubens, which was painted around 1616-1617 and destroyed in Berlin in 1945. However, there are several versions and copies: the copy of Rubens' workshop, such as the one preserved in the Museo del Prado of the series of the twelve apostles, which has a great compositional similarity with the present painting.
St. Paul was a Hellenized Jew of the Diaspora, born in Tarsus. He was therefore Jewish by ethnicity, Greek by culture and Roman by nationality. He received the name Saul, which he changed to Paul after his conversion. Born at the beginning of the first century, he studied in Jerusalem with Rabbi Gamaliel, who was known for his hatred of Christians. One day, when around the year 35 he was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus, he was dazzled by lightning and fell from his horse. Then he heard the voice of Jesus saying to him: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? As a result of this experience, the saint went abruptly from persecutor to zealot of Christianity.