Spanish school, late 16th century. "Saint Paul". Oil... Lot 5

Spanish school, late 16th century. "Saint Paul". Oil on canvas. Measurements: 105 x 81 cm; 126 x 100,5 cm (frame). Devotional painting representing Saint Paul of Tarsus. His effigy in half a body emerges from a closed composition, following a compositional model characteristic of the Spanish late Renaissance period. The black background emphasises the figure's volumetry, which is completely constructed through the incidence of a tenebrist light that models the contours and defines the features of the figure. One finger of the left hand rests on the open book of The Gospels and with his right hand he grasps the handle of a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom. The drapery is draped with deep, broken folds. The aged flesh tones are framed by a greying beard, and the eyes are turned heavenwards in a silent dialogue with God. During the Counter-Reformation, series of Apostles became quite popular, generally depicting them half-length, against a neutral background and bearing their iconographic attributes. They were, on the one hand, a derivation of the late medieval altarpieces, whose benches and streets usually depicted isolated, full- and half-length saints.