St. Luke

Frans Hals painted Saint Luke around 1625, the patron saint of painters traditionally depicted with his symbol the bull and often with his palette and brushes, here shown in a format characteristic of the Evangelist series Hals produced during this period. Luke as patron saint of painting made him a subject of particular professional resonance for an artist of Hals's standing, and his treatment gives the Evangelist a specificity and directness of gaze that suggests personal identification as much as hagiographic illustration. The work reflects the Dutch Protestant tradition of depicting sacred figures as recognizable human beings rather than idealized devotional types.

Luke's weathered face is rendered with Hals's vigorous, visible brushwork, the broad handling of the drapery and the penetrating characterization creating an image of unidealized spiritual authority.