The Conversion of St Paul

Giovanni Francesco Rustici's The Conversion of Saint Paul (c. 1525) depicts the dramatic moment on the road to Damascus when Saul of Tarsus is struck blind by divine light and transformed into the apostle Paul — one of the most frequently painted scenes of dramatic conversion in Christian art. Rustici, a Florentine sculptor and painter who was a close friend of Leonardo da Vinci, brought a sculptural energy to this dynamic scene of falling horses and stricken figures. His artistic personality was shaped by Leonardo's influence, and the painting reflects the complex, energetic figure compositions that characterized Florentine Mannerism in the generation after Leonardo and Michelangelo.

Rustici's painting technique reveals his primary identity as a sculptor in the powerful modeling of figures and the dramatic sense of physical movement, with the influence of Leonardo visible in the sfumato treatment of faces and the dynamic, spiraling composition of the falling figures.