El Greco (1541-1614)
San Pablo (St. Paul)
1598–1600
Oil on canvas, 69.9 x 55.9 cm
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis
Distinguished by his sword, the Christian apostle Paul holds a folded paper between the tips of his fingers. Its Greek inscription reads, “To Titus, ordained first Bishop of the Church of the Cretans,” a reference to Paul’s letter to his disciple. El Greco was born on the island of Crete but worked in Venice and Rome before settling in Toledo, Spain, where he produced several paintings of Jesus’s apostles as half-length figures. The legacy of Venetian painting traditions is evident in El Greco’s brilliant, luminous colors and the elongated, quivering proportions of St. Paul. (SLAM)