Saulo Against The Christians Oil On Canvas 17th Century

Code :  ARARPI0081385

not available
Saulo Against The Christians Oil On Canvas 17th Century

Code :  ARARPI0081385

not available

Saulo Against The Christians Oil On Canvas 17th Century

Features

Artwork title:  Saulo contro i cristiani

Age:  17th Century / 1601 - 1700

Description : Saulo contro i cristiani

Oil on canvas. In the big scene there are two figures of knights in arms, richly harnessed; the knight on the white horse that takes up all of the centre of the scene holds a shield with the words "Saule contra christianos" written on it; on the red banner on the right held by the subaltern, the initials of the same quote. This writing identifies the knight as Saulo, that is Saint Paul before his conversion to Christianity. According to some sources, his blind religious fanaticism forced many Christians to escape from Jerusalem towords Damascus. Saulo didn't leave them alone, but he rode towards Damascus on his horse and with a band of soldiers, with the consensus of the Synedrion, to find them and to start their prosecution in the Syrian city; but Saulo was called to his conversion right on the way to Damascus. There are no historical sources that attest that Saulo was a soldier, but the scene could propose the episode of the road to Damascus , when he was leading the soldiers. The painting is characterized by a great pictorial ability in the definition of details, in the strong vigor associated to the beauty of the figures, both of the men and the horses, in the play of colours, with the white of the horse in the middle stands out against the figures - that are only light in their skin tones - and the landscapes in the background, while the red of the hackle, of the banner and the capes creates stand out spots here and there. The linguistic error in the writing on the shield is peculiar, the vocative case "Saule" is used instead of the correct nominative case "Saulus": the artist, excellent painter but who didn't know latin, probably remembered the sentence pronounced by Jesus, in an episode in the Acts of the Apostles, when he calls Saulo:"Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris?" (Saulo, Saulo, why do you prosecute me?). The painting has been restored and reframed.

Product Condition:
Fair condition. Wear consistent with age and use.

Artwork dimensions (cm):
Height: 197
Width: 150
Depth: 3

Additional Information

Age: 17th Century / 1601 - 1700

17th Century / 1601 - 1700
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