Parmigianino (1503-1540)
Conversione di san Paolo (The Conversion of St Paul)
c.1527–1528
Oil on canvas, 177.5 × 128.5 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
As the Acts of the Apostles recount, Saul was suddenly surrounded by heavenly light on his way to Damascus, where he was to persecute Christians. Blinded, he fell to the ground. Saul repented, was baptized and, as Paul, became an ardent advocate of the new faith. Parmigianino interprets the miracle of divine enlightenment as a highly dramatic event that affects humans and animals alike as ecstatic excitement. (KHM)