The Conversion of Saint Paul

c. 1544

Jacopo Tintoretto

Painter, Venetian, 1518 or 1519 - 1594

About two dozen, light-skinned men and more than a dozen horses tumble across a rocky shore along a body of water, all against a deep landscape in this horizontal painting. At the bottom center of the canvas, a bearded man, Saint Paul, wears a teal-blue tunic and coral-pink cape, and he lies sprawled across a short set of gray, stone steps, perhaps a fragment from a building. With his head to our left, his body is tipped toward us and his arms are raised, palms facing out, as he looks back and up. He wears a thick gold chain around his neck, and the gold hilt of a sword hangs from his gold belt. A round gold shield is propped on the steps, and other pieces of armor, including a silver helmet and sleeve, are strewn in the grass nearby. To our left, a man wearing a mustard-yellow tunic and teal-blue cape rides a rearing white horse. The rider clutches his own head with both hands. Behind this horse and rider, men wearing emerald green, butter yellow, peach, or blue and metal helmets struggle around brown or white horses. To the right of Saint Paul, a chestnut-brown horse crouches near the edge of a river, and several men and more horses flail in the water. A pebbled path running behind Saint Paul leads to a low, arched bridge that spans the river and extends off the right edge of the composition. Carrying billowing, triangular flags in pale peach, pink, and yellow, men ride and push at a pair of rearing horses on the bridge. To our right, the river winds through a deep, mountainous landscape. To our left, yet more men and horses spill down a flight of stone stairs leading up to a bank of parchment-white clouds that span the sky in the top third of the painting. A bearded, blond man at the upper left corner, wearing rose pink and royal blue, stretches out across the clouds to gesture with an open palm to the landscape below.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Before he became known as Saint Paul, Saul was a persecutor of Christians. This early painting by the Venetian master Jacopo Tintoretto depicts the moment that led to Saul’s conversion. As described in Acts 9:3–7, he traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus to destroy the churches there. As Saul and his troops approached the city, he saw a flash of light around him and, falling to the ground, heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Tintoretto portrayed the scene as utter chaos. Frightened men and horses tangle and crash to the ground. Their terror seems to reverberate around them as ominous clouds and a strong wind seize upon the landscape.

In the artist’s time, the theme of Saint Paul’s conversion was a popular subject—one that provided painters an opportunity to show their skills. The ambitious young Tintoretto had studied works by masters including Raphael and Titian, and his own bold treatment seems to challenge them. But while referring to their works, Tintoretto’s painting resets them within a broader, more dynamic scene. Also contributing to the energy of the picture is the artist’s varied brushwork, which in some areas is strikingly free.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 24

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 152.7 × 236.3 cm (60 1/8 × 93 1/16 in.)
    framed: 193 x 276.2 x 14.9 cm (76 x 108 3/4 x 5 7/8 in.)
    gross weight: 106.595 kg (235 lb.)

  • Accession

    1961.9.43

More About this Artwork

Scholarly Article:  Italian Paintings of the Sixteenth Century: The Conversion of Saint Paul, c. 1544

Scholarly Series:  Italian Paintings of the Sixteenth Century

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably Palazzo Pisani a Santo Stefano until c. 1809.[1] George William Fox, 9th baron Kinnaird [1807-1878], Rossie Priory, Perthshire, Scotland, by 1857.[2] Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi [1878-1955], Florence, by 1939;[3] sold June 1954 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[4] gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] As proposed by Lino Moretti, “I Pisani di Santo Stefano e le opere d’arte del loro palazzo,” in Il Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello a Venezia: 1876–1976: Centenario della fondazione, edited by Pietro Verardo, Venice, 1977: 170. The 1809 inventory by Pietro Edwards of the painting gallery of the Palazzo Pisani a Santo Stefano lists a Conversion of Saint Paul attributed to Andrea Schiavone, measuring 157 x 235 cm. Tintoretto’s early paintings have often been attributed to Schiavone. In addition, the collection included one other major early painting by Tintoretto (the Visit of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, now Château, Chenonceaux) as well as a Crucifixion from Tintoretto’s studio in the mid-1550s (now Museo Civico, Padua). The origin of the paintings in the Pisani galleria, a large majority of which date from the Cinquecento, is unknown. The palace itself dates from the first two decades of the 17th century. In 1679 Almorò Pisani (1615-1682) bound the paintings along with the palazzo and the rest of its contents to pass by inheritance without division according to male primogeniture. In the late 18th century, the palace was restored and decorated by Almorò Alvise Pisani (1754-1808) after his marriage to Giustiniana Pisani di Santa Maria del Giglio, who brought as her dowry the possessions of that line, which was extinguished with her. Almorò Alvise and his brother Almorò Francesco (1759-1836) fell into debt and in 1781 divided up all the family property not bound by the trust. They were forced to sell their villa on the terra ferma to Napoleon in 1807. In 1809, after Almorò Alvise’s death, his son, also named Almorò Francesco, and Almorò Francesco (the brother of Almorò Alvise) divided up the remaining undivided assets, the trust having been invalidated by Napoleonic law. The inventory was prepared at this time. The paintings were sold and dispersed, along with many of the other treasures of the palace, much of which was also sold off over the following decades. See Moretti 1977, 138-139, 166, 170. The fact that the Pisani galleria contained at least two early paintings by Tintoretto, along with one from the mid-1550s, raises the possibility that these three pictures were originally purchased by the same early patron of Tintoretto, either a member of the Pisani family or someone from whom the Pisani eventually acquired them. However, no link can be established between the Pisani painting and the first documented appearance of the NGA’s painting in the Kinnaird collection in 1857.
[2] Gustav Friedrich Waagen, Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of more than Forty Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Mss., &c.&c., London, 1857: 448.
[3] Published by William Suida, “Zwei unbekannte Werke Tintorettos,” Pantheon 23 (1939): 122, as in the Contini Bonacossi collection.
[4] On 7 June 1954 the Kress Foundation made an offer to Contini Bonacossi for sixteen paintings, including the NGA painting. In a draft of one of the documents prepared for the Count's signature in connection with the offer this painting is described as one "which came from my personal collection in Florence." The Count accepted the offer on 30 June 1954; the final payment for the purchase was ultimately made in early 1957, after the Count's death in 1955. (See copies of correspondence in NGA curatorial files and The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2107).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2007

  • Tintoretto, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2007, no. 3, repro.

2017

  • Tintoret: Naissance d'un génie, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne; Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, 2017-2018, no. 5, repro.

2018

  • Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia and Palazzo Ducale, Venice; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2018-2019, no. 70, repro.

Bibliography

1857

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of more than Forty Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Mss., &c.&c., visited in 1854 and 1856, ..., forming a supplemental volume to the "Treasures of Art in Great Britain." London, 1857: 448.

1939

  • Suida, Wilhelm. “Zwei unbekannte Werke Tintorettos.” Pantheon 23 (1939): 122, repro., 123-125.

1942

  • Bercken, Erich von der. Die Gemälde des Jacopo Tintoretto. Munich, 1942: 96, 100, fig. 46.

1950

  • Pallucchini, Rodolfo. La giovinezza del Tintoretto. Milan, 1950: 86-87, figs. 113-115.

1952

  • Morassi, Antonio. “Review of La giovinezza del Tintoretto, by Rodolfo Pallucchini.” Emporium 115 (1952): 240.

1956

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 174, no. 69, repro.

  • Walker, John. "The Nation's Newest Old Masters." The National Geographic Magazine 110, no. 5 (November 1956): color repro. 620-621, 631.

1957

  • Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Venetian School. 2 vols. London, 1957: 1:176.

1959

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 200, repro.

1960

  • Arslan, Edoardo. Le pitture del Duomo di Milano. Milan, 1960: 20, 32 n. 34.

1962

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 36, color repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 128.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:192, color repro.

1967

  • Ballarin, Alessandro. “Jacopo Bassano e lo studio del Rafaello e dei Salviati.” Arte Veneta 21 (1967): 98.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 115, repro.

1970

  • De Vecchi, Pierluigi. L’opera completa del Tintoretto. Milan, 1970: 88-89, no. 27.

1971

  • Freedberg, Sydney J. Painting in Italy 1500-1600. Harmondsworth, 1971, rev. ed. 1975: 519-520.

1972

  • Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, Mass., 1972: 201.

  • Pallucchini, Rodolfo. “Due nuove opere giovanili di Jacopo Tintoretto.” Arte Veneta 26 (1972): 57.

1973

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XVI-XVIII Century. London, 1973: 49-50, fig. 91.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 342, repro.

1977

  • Moretti, Lino. “I Pisani di Santo Stefano e le opere d’arte del loro palazzo.” In Il Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello a Venezia, 1876–1976: centenario della fondazione. Edited by Pietro Verardo. Venice, 1977: 170.

1978

  • Martone, Thomas. "The Theme of the Conversion of Saint Paul in Italian Paintings from the Earlier Christian Period to the High Renaissance." Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1978. New York, 1985: 214-215.

  • Rossi, Paola. “Per il catalogo di Jacopo Tintoretto: nuove opere giovanili.” _Arte Veneta _ 32 (1978): 202-203.

1979

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:468-470; 2:pl. 334.

1982

  • Pallucchini, Rodolfo, and Paola Rossi. Tintoretto: le opere sacre e profane. 2 vols. Venice, 1982: 1:20-24, 26, 139, 140, 141, 142-143, 168, 229, no. 79; 2:figs. 97-99.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 230, no. 291, color repro.

  • Rossi, Paola. “Andrea Schiavone e l’intoduzione del Parmigianino a Venezia.” In Cultura e società nel Rinascimento tra riforme e manierismi. Edited by Vittore Branca and Caralo Ossola. Florence, 1984: 198-199, 204-205.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 393, repro.

  • Valcanover, Francesco, and Terisio Pignatti. Tintoretto. New York, 1985: 72.

1991

  • Rearick, W. R. "Titian Drawings: A Progress Report." Artibus et Historiae 12, no. 23 (1991): 31-32.

1993

  • Echols, Robert. "Jacopo Tintoretto and Venetian Painting, 1538-1548." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park, 1993. Ann Arbor, MI, 1994: 138-143.

1994

  • Krischel, Roland. Tintoretto. Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1994: 16-18.

1996

  • Cassegrain, Guillaume. “‘Ces choses ont été des figures de ce qui nous concerne’: une lecture de la ‘Conversion de Saint Paul’ du Tintoret.” Venezia Cinquecento 6 (1996): 55-85.

1999

  • Nichols, Tom. Tintoretto: Tradition and Identity. London, 1999: 6, 28, 29-30 34, color fig. 8.

2000

  • Krischel, Roland. Jacopo Tintoretto, 1519–1594. Cologne, 2000: 10-11, fig. 4.

2001

  • Rearick, William R. Il disegno veneziano del Cinquecento. Milan, 2001: 118, 219.

2007

  • Dunkerton, Jill. “Tintoretto’s Painting Technique.” In Tintoretto. Edited by Miguel Falomir. Exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2007: 140.

  • Falomir, Miguel, ed. Tintoretto. Exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2007: 33-36, 122, 184-185, 198, 297, 348.

2009

  • Goldberg, Jonathan. The Seeds of Things: Theorizing Sexuality and Materiality in Renaissance Representations. New York, 2009: pl. 2.

  • Ilchman, Frederick, et al. Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice. Exh. cat. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Musée du Louvre, Paris. Boston, 2009: 108.

  • Echols, Robert, and Frederick Ilchman. “Toward a New Tintoretto Catalogue, with a Checklist of Revised Attributions and a New Chronology.” In Jacopo Tintoretto: Actas del congreso internacional/Proceedings of the International Symposium, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, February 26-27, 2007. Madrid, 2009: 121, no. 32.

2010

  • Cassegrain, Guillaume. Tintoret. Paris, 2010: 12-14, 31, 34, fig. 1.

Wikidata ID

Q20176379

You may be interested in

Loading Results