Saint Paul

Lucas van Leyden's Saint Paul presents the apostle in the half-length devotional format that the Leiden master adapted from Flemish and Italian precedents. Paul, with his characteristic sword of martyrdom and book of epistles, was among the most frequently depicted apostles in northern European devotional painting, his conversion narrative and theological writings making him an especially compelling figure for humanist patrons. Van Leyden's characterization gives the apostle a rugged intellectual authority, the broad face and penetrating gaze suggesting the former persecutor transformed by grace into Christianity's greatest theologian.

The figure of the apostle is rendered with the sharp characterization that Lucas brought from his engraving practice into paint. The commanding presence of the figure reflects the saint's theological authority.