Artwork Depicting St. Paul the Apostle

collected by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

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Masaccio, St. Paul
Masaccio (Italian painter, 401-428), "St. Paul," 1426, Tempera on wood, 51 x 30 cm, Museo Nazionale, Pisa. Larger image.

Pictures of St. Paul the Apostle are found widely. Not as widely as those of St. Peter, perhaps, but still portraits and statues of this great church planting apostle are widespread, especially in Europe. Portraits of the apostle can be identified by a book or scroll, since he was a New Testament writer, and a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom. 2008-2009 was the Year of St. Paul the Apostle, celebrating his 2000th birthday -- more or less. January 25 is the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

Paintings, Frescos, Murals

Rembrandt Hamerszoon van Rijn (1606-1669), Dutch painter

Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Flemish painter (1525-69), Conversion of Paulus (1567), 108 x 156 cm., Wood panel, Kunsthistorishes Museum, Wien (Vienna), Austria.


El Greco, "St. Paul" (1606), Oil on canvas, 97 x 77 cm, Museo del Greco, Toledo. Larger image.

Caravaggio

Antonio da Correggio (c. 1489-1534), The Apostles Peter and Paul, San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma.

El Greco

  • St. Paul (1606), Oil on canvas, 97 x 77 cm, Museo del Greco, Toledo

  • Apostles Peter and Paul, 1592, Oil on canvas, 121.5 x 105 cm, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Masaccio, St. Paul (1426), Tempera on wood, 51 x 30 cm, Museo Nazionale, Pisa

Michelangelo

  • St Paul (1503-04), marble statue, height: 127 cm, Duomo, Siena
  • The Conversion of Saul (detail) (1542-45), Fresco, width of detail 101 cm, Cappella Paolina, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican

Raphael, St. Paul Preaching in Athens (1515), Victoria and Albert Museum.

Andrei Rublev, Apostle Paul. (c. 1420s), tempera on wood. 160 x 109 cm. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Tintoretto, Jacopo (Venetian, 1518 - 1594), The Conversion of Saint Paul (c. 1545), oil on canvas, 152.4 x 236.2 cm (60 x 92 7/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Adam Elsheimer, St Paul at Malta (c. 1600), Oil on copper, 17 x 21 cm, National Gallery, London

Bernardo Daddi, St. Paul (1333), tempera on panel, 233.7 x 89.2 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Giotto di Bondone

John Liss, The Ecstasy of St Paul, Oil on canvas, 80 x 58 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Zuccaro, Taddeo, The Martyrdom of Saint Paul, ca. 1557-1558, Drawing, pen and brown and gray ink, brown wash, over black chalk, heightened with white, on buff paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Godfried Schalcken, "An Old Man Writing a Book by Candlelight" (1663-1706), oil on canvas, 33.4x25.9 in., UK National Trust. Could make a credible Paul image.

Albrecht Dürer, detail of St. Paul from The Four Holy Men (Mark and Paul) (1526)
Albrecht Dürer, detail of St. Paul from "The Four Holy Men (Mark and Paul)" (1526), oil on panel, 215 x 76 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Full image.

Gustave Doré (French artist, engraver, illustrator, sculptor, 1832-1883)


"Saint Paul," Roma, 2nd half of 13th century (fresco fragments; 38 cm x 27 cm), Fabbrica of St. Peter's, Vatican Museum. Larger image. 		 

Pannini, Giovanni Paolo, Apostle Paul Preaching on the Ruins, 1744, Oil on canvas, 64 x 83,5 cm, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Düer, Albrecht, The Four Holy Men (Mark and Paul), 1526, Oil on panel, 215 x 76 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich. St. Paul is shown in the right panel to the left of St. Mark.

Shields, Frederic James (British painter, 1833-1911), St. Paul the Aged, stands over an olive tree and Pan, from the painting in the Chapel of the Ascension, Bayswater Road, London, completed 1910. Chapel was destroyed by enemy action in WWII.

Pier Francesco Sacchi (c. 1485-1528), Saint Paul Writing (1520s), oil on poplar, 106 x 81.9 cm. The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London.

Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier, St Paul Writing His Epistles (1620)
(Probably) Valentin de Boulogne (ca 1594-1632), Saint Paul Writing His Epistles (c. 1618-20), oil on canvas, 39-1/8 x 52-3/8", Blaffer Foundation Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX.

Valentin de Boulogne (ca 1594-1632) or Nicolas Tournier (1590-1638), Saint Paul Writing His Epistles (1620), oil. Blaffer Foundation Collection, Houston, TX.

Filippo Lippi (Florentine painter, 1457-1504), St. Paul Visits St. Peter in Prison (c. 1480). Paulus bezoekt Petrus in de gevangenis; misschien nog ontworpen door Masaccio. Florence.

Tiepolo, The Parting of Sts. Peter and Paul, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA. Pen and brown ink with brown wash.

Xanto Avelli, Francesco (attributed): The Conversion of Saul (earthenware bowl) ---National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA

Pompeo Giralamo Batoni (1708-1787), St. Paul, Basildon Park, The National Trust, UK. Also portraits of St. Matthew, St. John, and St. Peter.

Ribera, Apostle Peter and Paul, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

Enrique Simonet, The Beheading of St. Paul (1887), Malaga Cathedral, Andalusia, Spain.


Pompeo Giralamo Batoni (1708-1787), St. Paul, Basildon Park, The National Trust, UK. Larger image.

Richard Serrin (1928- ). Contemporary Christian illustrator and painter.

  • #49. "Paul on the Road to Damascus"
  • #53. "Paul in Chains"
  • #55. "Paul Being Cured of Blindness"
  • #56. "Paul in Prison Writing a Letter to Timothy"
  • #71. "Paul in Ephesus," 96 x 156
  • #108. "Paul in Prison recalling stoning Stephen"

James J. Tissot, St. Paul.

Circle of Lucas van Leyden, San Pablo (c. 1525), oil on panel, 44 x 21 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

Unknown

  • Philippian Jailer with Paul and Silas, 1900s religious illustration.
  • Initial S: The Conversion of Saint Paul. Attributed to Pisanello, illuminator; Attributed to Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore, illuminator, Italian, probably the Veneto, possibly Verona, about 1440 - 1450, Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and silver leaf on parchment, 5 9/16 x 3 1/2 in, MS. 41, VERSO. Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
  • Tondo with Saint Paul, Assisi, Upper Basilica.
  • St. Paul, Mural over the door to the Basilica of St. Paul, Rome.

Georges de La Tour (1593-1652), St. Paul (1615-20), oil on canvas, Musee Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi, France. Shows Paul with spectacles reading a letter.

Saint Paul writing. From an early 9th century manuscript version of Saint Paul's letters, Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, HB II 54 The manuscript is ascribed to the Monastery of St. Gallen under the scribe Wolfcoz.

Sister Margaret Agnes Rope (1882-1953), British Arts and Crafts pioneer, Carmelite nun.

 

Catacomb Paintings and Inscriptions

St. Paul, Catacombs of Praetextatus, fresco, fourth century.

Catacomb picture of Peter and Paul with the Chi-Rho symbol between them. Gravestone for the boy Asellus. Marble catacomb inscription, Pio Cristiano: Vatican Museum

Sculptures, Statues, Bas Relief

Alessandro Algardi, Beheading of St. Paul (1650)
Alessandro Algardi (Italian sculptor, 1598-1654), "Beheading of St. Paul" (1650) Marble, height 286 cm., San Paolo Maggiore, Bologna. Larger image.

Many cathedrals have statues of the apostles, many of Paul. Here are a few that stand out.

  • Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Conversion of St. Paul, Seminary of the Missionary Society of St. Paul,  Abuja, Nigeria
  • Michelangelo, St Paul (1503-04), marble statue, height: 127 cm, Duomo, Siena
  • Paolo Romano, Four Reliefs with the Trials of St. Paul 1460-64, Marble, height: 133 cm, width: 37 cm (each), Musei Vaticani, Vatican
  • Sebastiano Torrigiani, St. Paul  (c. 1585), Gilt bronze, height 87.6 cm, Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican
  • Adamo Tadolini (1788-1868), St. Peter (1838), marble statue, in front of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican, 5.55 m high, pedestal 4.91 m. Restored 1985-86.
  • Alessandro Algardi, Beheading of St Paul, c. 1650, Marble statue, height: 286 cm, San Paolo Maggiore, Bologna
  • Saints Peter and Paul baptizing their jailers, bas-relief carving in Mamertine Prison (Rome's state prison) above the altar.
  • *St. Paul (statue) on St. Isaac Cathedral, St. Petersburg
  • Medallion of St. Paul, Siena, c. 1320 ( copper with enamel and gilding, diameter 5.9 cm).
  • Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), St. Paul, statue in Vor Frue Kirke / Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen.
  • Bust of St. Paul, St. Paul's Basilica, Apian Way, Rome.
  • *Statue of St. Paul the Apostle, in courtyard of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome. Another. Another.
  • Statue of St. Paul, central doorway of San Paolo fuori la mura, Rome.
  • St. Paul and the marble apostles, Rome.
  • St. Paul, Church, Boston, old city.
  • Edgar Bertram Mackennal (Australian sculptor, 1863–1931). New Paul's Cross (1910), bronze, St. Paul's Cathedral churchyard, London. Near the site of the old Paul's Cross, a pulpit destroyed by the Puritans in 1643. The statue is atop a tall column and base designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield (British architect, 1856-1942). Another. Another.
  • Statue of St. Paul, on Ponte Sant'Angelo in front of Castel Sant' Angelo near the Vatican. 
  • St. Paul, in front of the Latin School, Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands.
  • The St. Paul Column, Valletta, Malta. Plaster and wood, painted.
  • Saint Paul, (Byzantine, 6th–early 7th century), bas relief on ivory, Musée de Cluny.
  • Adamo Tadolini (1788-1868), "St. Paul" (1838) statue in front of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican, Rome, 18.2 ft. high.

Icons

There are many, many icons of St. Paul, most anonymous. Here are a few:

Mosaics of St. Paul


"St. Paul Preaching in Berea," contemporary mosaic, center of the Altar of the Apostle Paul, Viera, Greece (Berea, Macedonia)

Ravenna Mosaics (6th to 7th century)

  • Saint Paul with his book (rotulus), Arian Baptistry, Ravenna. Saints Peter and Paul flank Christ's throne. St. Paul is shown with a scroll.
  • Saint Paul, Archbishop Andrea's palace chapel, Ravenna. Apostle Paul (494-495 AD), ceiling mosaic, Archiepiscopal Chapel of St. Andrew (oratory), Ravenna, Italy
  • St. Paul, Dome Mosaic, Orthodox Baptistry of Neon, Ravenna (end of 5th century)
  • St. Paul, Arian Baptistery, Ravenna, come mosaic, baptistery built by Theodoric, end of 5th century. St. Paul is holding a scroll, behind him are martyrs bringing crowns to present.
  • St. Paul mosaic of Capella Arcivescovile at Ravenna, 5th century. archepiscopal oratory of St. Andrew in Ravenna, Italy
  • Arch Mosaic: Christ with Peter and Paul. St. Vitale Bascilica, Ravenna

St. Paul, mosaic, church St. Saviour, of the Monastery of Chora, Istanbul Another. Another. Another.

Apostle Paul (494-495 AD), mosaic in ceiling, Archiepiscopal oratory chapel of St. Andrew, Ravenna, Italy
Apostle Paul (494-495 AD), ceiling mosaic, Archiepiscopal Chapel of St. Andrew (oratory), Ravenna, Italy

"St. Paul" (c. 799), mosaic fragment, 59.7 x 39.7 x 9 cm, Vatican Museum. Originally decorated the state banquet hall of the papal Lateran Palace, Rome. Restored by Giovanni Battista Calandra in 1625.

Eduard Burne-Jones, St. Paul (1881-1898), apse of St Paul's within the Walls (American Episcopal Church), Rome.

St. Paul, mosaic at Malbis Memorial Church, Baldwin County, Alabama

Sts. Peter and Paul mosaic, apse, Church of St. Prudentiana, Roma. Oldest church mosaic in existence.

Mosaic of St. Paul, St. Paul's Church, 2127 W. 22nd Place, Chicago.

St. Paul exterior mosaic, caption, "Make Love your aim" standing on a ship, St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, Irvine, CA.

St. Paul in Veria mosaic, Veira and Thessaloniki

St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Westwood, CA

Mosaics inside St. Isaac's, St. Petersburg. St. Paul Mosaic

Mosaics on exterior Cathedral of Spilled/Spilt Blood, St. Petersburg

Chapel of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Rome.

Stained Glass

Collections

Apostle Paul: Passionate Discipleship

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Copyright of artwork. Much, but not all, of the artwork linked to on this site is in the public domain worldwide due to the date of death of its author (if it is was published outside of the U.S. and the author has been dead for over 70 years), or due to its date of publication (if it was first made public in the U.S. before 1923), at least in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.), in Germany, and in many other countries.

Copyright © 2024, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

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