The Apostle Paul
Rembrandt·c. 1657
Historical Context
This painting of the Apostle Paul, attributed to Rembrandt and possibly his workshop, depicts the saint in contemplation with his traditional attribute of the sword. Rembrandt painted numerous single-figure apostle studies during the 1650s, presenting these sacred figures with the same psychological depth he brought to his portraits. Paul, the converted persecutor who became Christianity's greatest missionary, was a subject that resonated with Rembrandt's interest in spiritual transformation.
Technical Analysis
The oil-on-canvas demonstrates the broad, expressive brushwork and warm chiaroscuro of Rembrandt's mature period. The concentrated lighting on the apostle's contemplative face and the loose, suggestive handling of the background reflect the master's style of the late 1650s.
Provenance
Johan van Schuylenburg, The Hague; (his sale, The Hague, 20 September 1735, no. 31); Backer. Pierre-Louis Éveillard de Livois [1736-1790], Angers;[1] (his estate sale, by Sentout, Angers, unknown date in 1791, no. 65); Gamba;[2] (his sale, by Paillet and Geoffroy, Paris, 17-18 December 1811, 1st day, no. 26, bought in); purchased soon after this sale by Ferdinando Marescalchi [1754-1816], Bologna.[3] Sir George Hayter [1792-1871], London, by 1841;[4] (his sale, Christie & Manson, London, 3 May 1845, no. 82, as _Portrait of Cornelius Von Schrevellier [Schrevellius Translater(sic) of Homer_); (Nieuwenhuys).[5] James-Alexandre, comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier [1776-1855], Paris; (his sale, at his residence, Paris, 27 March-4 April 1865 [this lot 31 March], no. 182); purchased by (Otto Mündler, Paris) for Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st baron Wimborne [1835-1914], Canford Manor, Dorsetshire.[6] (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London); Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, by 1912; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] Burton Fredericksen brought to the Gallery’s attention details of the provenance from Livois through Marescalchi; see his 14 February 1991 letter to Suzannah Fabing, in NGA curatorial files. Further details have been found in the The Getty Provenance Index© Databases. [2] This was possibly Bartolomeo Gamba (1776-1841), bibliographer, publisher, and librarian of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. [3] An 1813 inventory of Marescalchi's collection includes the painting: “Una mezza figura in grande rappresentante una Persona in meditazione o studiosa, di grande maniera, comprata alla vendita di Monsieur Gamba negozio di Parigi, come dal suo Catalogo. Quadro grande in piedi” (Monica Proni, “Per la ricostruzione della quadreria del Conte Ferdinando Marescalchi (1753-1816),” _Antologia di Belle Arti_, nos. 33/34 [1988]: 39). It is also included in later inventories of the Marescalchi collection made in 1817 and 1824 (Monica Preti Hamard, _Ferdinando Marescalchi (1754-1816): Un collezionista italiano nella Parigi napoleonica_, 2 vols., Bologna, 2005: 1:384, fig. 48; 2:131-132). [4] Hayter lent the painting an exhibition in 1841. [5] The dealer’s name is written below lot 82 in a copy of the sale catalogue annotated by Lord Northwick, now at Yale University (copy in NGA curatorial files). [6] _A Catalogue of the Pictures at Canford Manor in the Possession of Lord Wimborne_, Edinburgh, 1888: 63-64, no. 154. The entry on the painting, page 63, prints an extract from a letter of 31 March 1865 to Lord Wimborne from Otto Mündler in which Mündler wrote that he had purchased "the Rembrandt 185, representing St. Paul." However, either Mündler recorded the wrong lot number or the catalogue transcribed the number from the letter inaccurately, as on p. 64 the catalogue lists the Rembrandt under "copy of the auctioneer's note," as sale catalogue number 182.
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