Artwork
The Conversion of Saint Paul
The Conversion of Saint Paul is a drawing by Pieter Coecke van Aelst. It dates from 1550 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1550 by the Flemish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst, this paper drawing combines pen work with brownish‑grey ink, a brown wash, and selective white highlights. The composition captures a tumultuous moment filled with figures, horses, and a stormy sky, rendered in a dense network of lines that convey motion and tension.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts the dramatic conversion of Saint Paul, focusing on a chaotic encounter where a rider tumbles backward amid a swirl of onlookers and horses. The darkened clouds and turbulent atmosphere amplify the narrative’s sense of divine intervention and upheaval, emphasizing the transformative impact of the event on the surrounding figures.
Technique & Style
Coecke van Aelst employed fine, intersecting lines to model the musculature of the horses and the swirling sky, using cross‑hatching to build subtle shadows. A brown wash grounds the composition, while touches of white create highlights that lift the figures from the background. Such preparatory drawings were typical for planning larger painted or printed works.
History & Provenance
The drawing entered the museum’s holdings in 1869 as part of the bequest left by Reverend Alexander Dyce. Since its acquisition, it has been catalogued as an example of mid‑sixteenth‑century Flemish draftsmanship and remains a key piece in the institution’s collection of preparatory studies.
Context
Produced during a period when religious narratives were frequently rendered for altarpieces and prints, the work reflects the broader Counter‑Reformation interest in vivid, emotionally charged depictions of biblical episodes. Coecke van Aelst’s training in both painting and tapestry design informs the drawing’s intricate composition and dynamic movement.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pieter Coecke van Aelst or Pieter Coecke van Aelst the Elder was a Flemish painter, sculptor, architect, author and designer of woodcuts, goldsmith's work, stained glass and tapestries.
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