The Conversion of St Paul

Caravaggio​, 1601

Oil on canvas

93 x 74 in.

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"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 22:6-11

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The Conversion of St Paul, by Italian painter Caravaggio depicts the moment when Saul of Tarsus, on the way to Damascus to attack a community of Christians, is confronted by the voice of Christ, leading to his conversion to Christianity. 

 

It was commissioned by Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi, Treasurer to Pope Clement VIII, in September 1600. Upon completion, the painting, along with a second commission of the Crucifixion of St Peter, were rejected by Cerasi. Second versions were painted and those hang in the Cerasi chapel in the Basilica of Sant Maria del Popolo in Rome.

 

Some historians contend that the paintings were never rejected, but were seized by an opportunistic Cardinal Sannessio upon Cerasi’s unexpected death in 1601.

 

The painting now resides in the Odescalchi Balbi Collection at Palazzo Odescalchi Balbi in Rome, a privately owned property that rarely permits visitors.

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