The conversion of Saul

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The conversion of Saul: Michelangelo

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Michelangelo Various Paintings - The conversion of Saul

Keywords: conversion, Saul

Work Overview: The Conversion of Saul
Artist Michelangelo
Year circa 1542–1545
Type Fresco
Dimensions 625 cm × 661 cm (246 in × 260 in)
Style High Renaissance
Genre religious painting
Location Cappella Paolina, Vatican Palace, Vatican City

The Conversion of Saul is a fresco painted by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti (c. 1542–1545). It is housed in the Cappella Paolina, Vatican Palace, in the Vatican City. The style is more mannerist than his earlier Sistine Chapel frescoes, and was not as well received by contemporaries. The next fresco he completed was The Crucifixion of St. Peter.

The conversion of Saul (St Paul) is the best-known and most widely represented of the Pauline themes (Acts 9:1-9). On the road to Damascus, where he was going to obtain authorization from the synagogue to arrest Christians, Paul was struck to the ground, blinded by a sudden light from heaven. The voice of God, heard also by Paul's attendants, as artists make clear, said, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' They led him to the city where, the voice had said, he would told what he had to do. According to a tradition, connected with the medieval Custom of representing pride as a falling horseman, Paul made the journey on horseback. He lies on the ground as if just thrown from his horse, prostrate with awe, or unconcious. He may be wearing Roman armour. Christ appeares in the heavens, perhaps with three angels. Paul's attendants run to help him or try to control the rearing horses.

In Michelangelo's fresco the composition shows great depth of feeling obtained by the use of light and darkness that foreshadows Rembrandt and testifies to the heroic virtuosity of the aged master. A focal line traverses the the painting, its progression at once reveals the meaning of the composition. Starting at the top left it flows diagonally, along the figure of Christ descending and a beam of light. It follows a figure with raised fingers and another, bent over the fallen Saul, and circumscribes the ellipse of this body. From his right leg it curves back and upward in the direction of a horse galloping in the background, and loses itself in the undulating contours of the mountains with a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem faintly outlined in their folds - unless we accept a more literal explanation and call it Damascus. Note that this line has the shape of a bishop's staff and sums up the whole incident in symbolic form: Saul destined to be shepherd and overseer of people. (The term 'bishop' means overseer.) The high-light on the head of Saul and on the horse's head confirms the symbolic meaning; the dim awarness of fallen man is touched by the lightning flash of grace, and as universal conciousness awakens in him, he loses his animal torpor and gains true knowledge.

This is the first of two large frescoes Michelangelo made in Paul's Chapel (Cappella Paolina) in the Vatican. The other one shows The Crucifixion of Peter. The chapel was built as a private chapel for pope Paul III. The frescoes were painted opposite each other on the long walls of the chapel.

Michelangelo started working on this fresco in 1542. The depiction of the figures in the sky shows strong resemblance to his previous project: The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, which he finished in 1541.

The fresco shows the moment that Saul, a fanatical persecutor of christians, is hit by a divine beam of light, which leaves him lying on the ground, blinded. A voice tells him to continue his journey to Damascus. There a christian called Ananias makes him see again. Now named Paul, he joins the apostles.

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The Conversion of Saul by Michelangelo depicts the famous Biblical scene of the Apostle Paul being struck from the heavens by the golden energy of God – an event which transformed him from a cruel persecutor of Christians into one of its foremost advocates.

Before his magnificent conversion, Paul was known as Saul of Tarsus. He was a cruel and brutal man in the business of persecuting Christians. In fact, he was on the road to Damascus under orders to arrest Christians when God seized upon him for a blast of spiritual transformation.

Colorful, Busy, and Energetic
Michelangelo’s magnificent painting is colorful and exploding with activity and energy. A God figure (Jesus or God the Father) is depicted in the sky surrounded by a host of angelic beings. A red-robed God is thrusting a muscular right arm toward Saul, soon to be Paul, spearing him with holy light.

Below are at least 20 people in and around an area where Paul lies on the ground among a background of gentle hills. The event caused Paul to be thrown from his horse. Paul is seen grasping his head with both hands while another man (some say an angel) supports him, lifting his head and shoulders from the ground. A slight aural glow graces Paul’s head, and also the head of his horse, which is off to his right. In Michelangelo’s time, a fall from a horse was symbolic for a “fall from pride.”

A Work Evoking Strong Emotion
Merely viewing the Conversion of Paul instills the observer with an in-depth feeling of emotion, passion and energy. The use of light and shadows was highly innovative for the time, and this style is said to have been a major influence on Rembrandt and other painters.

The Conversion of Saul is believed to have been created around 1542, or perhaps 1543, or 1545. It is currently kept in the Cappella Paolina within the Vatican Palace in Vatican City.

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Michelangelo Buonarroti, one of the masters belonging to the triumvirate of the High Renaissance period [other two being Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael Santi] is renowned for sculptures, paintings, poems and architecture. However, people give credit to his famous works like The Last Judgement, David, Sistine Chapel ceiling, etc. and ignore his other works. Michelangelo was a devout Catholic and drew inspiration from the Bible. His painting – The Conversion of Saul – is a wonderful creation that does not have a similar reputation as his renowned ones. However, the painting reflects the strong sense of devotion and understanding of Michelangelo towards the Bible.

Saul of Tarsus – The Biblical Story

Saul was from the city of Tarsus and he is a self described persecutor, chief of sinners, blasphemer and an unbeliever. Saul had two names [which was the custom] – Saul was the Hebrew name and Paul was the Latin name. He was in the verge of killing the believers of the Christ and was determined to bind the believers and bring them to Jerusalem. On a certain journey to Damascus, where Saul thinks of imprisoning everyone including children and women who believes in the way of the Lord – a miracle happens.

As Saul approaches Damascus, a light flashes around Saul. Then, Saul hears a sound from the sky asking the reason for persecuting the Lord. Saul questions who it was and the voice replies that it was Jesus. He orders Saul to enter the city of Damascus and wait for further instructions. The associates could only hear the sound from the sky but cannot comprehend it. Saul becomes bereaved of vision and with the help of the associates reaches the city. He does not drink or eat for three days and involves himself in praying.

Lord comes into the vision of Ananias, a discipline, to ask him to approach Saul and relieve him of the blindness. Although, Ananias disagrees because of his knowledge of Saul and his brutality, he accepts after learning the purpose of Saul. Ananias approaches Saul and restores his vision. He advices Saul to get baptized and he does so immediately marking the conversion of Saul. After getting baptized Saul started to preach the way of the Lord and went on various missions to spread the Word. The Conversion of Saul is considered one of the great miracles in Christianity. The Latin name Paul gradually became famous and the people got know him now as Paul or St. Paul.

The Conversion of Saul is a fresco painted by Michelangelo housed in the Vatican Palace, specifically in the Cappella Paolina along with his other fresco “The Crucifixion of St Peter”. The two frescos were developed by Michelangelo during the years 1542 – 1549. The Conversion of Saul is believed to be done between 1542 and 1545. The painting style [Mannerist] has influenced Rembrandt.

The setting is a road to Damascus where Saul, according to Bible, is leading his associates to the city of Damascus. Michelangelo depicts the exact moment where Saul of Tarsus is struck by a flash of light produced by Jesus. In the sky, the act is witnessed by a crowd of angels who are seemingly calm. On the contrary, the people are scared and look feared by the sudden flash of light.

Saul has gleaming light on him and he is on the ground, helped by an angelic presence. God’s hand is directly upon Saul and the conversation between them is symbolized by the light. A horse with glowing head is shown with its forelegs in the air. This indicates that Saul was travelling by horse and fell to the ground with the sudden outburst from the skies. During the time of Michelangelo, it is believed that falling from a horse is a symbol for fall of pride.

Michelangelo used this symbol in the conversion of Saul to indicate that Saul has acknowledged the truth and realized the power of Jesus. Analysis of the shape of Saul reveals that it is in the form of a staff held by Bishop. This shows that the grace of the God is already within Saul and he is ready to serve the purpose of Jesus. With the disappearance of pride and affection towards the body, Michelangelo perfectly depicts the conversion of Saul. He has stayed true to the story in the Bible and gave some wonderful effects with the help of colours.

The Fresco did not get the deserved fame during the time of Michelangelo; however, it gradually gained fame and became a Universal symbol to depict the conversion of Saul.

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A Fresco housed in the Vatican City, The Conversion of Saul was painted between 1542-1545 and is more Mannerist in its style than many of Michelangelo's previous works.

It marks a development both in his personal style and in his use of colour.

It shows the biblical story of the conversion of the brutal and cruel Saul of Tarsus into Paul the Apostle. In the biblical tale Saul is an assiduous hounder and relentless persecutor of Christians, and is on the road to Damascus in order to arrest more when struck by a blinding shaft of light and confronted from the heavens by God, who asks him why he's persecuting him.

Suitably impressed by this intervention, The Hebrew Saul becomes the Latinate Paul. A famous tale, the phrase "Damascene Conversion" is used to this day to describe anyone who's had a fundamental change in outlook.

The fresco shows Michelangelo at the height of his powers, and experimenting with pushing his style. The action describes a graceful line running from the top left, where the face of a God-figure appears surrounded by a host of angels, down through the middle of the painting to the downed Saul, thrown from his horse, which is understandably startled at this turn of events.

In Medieval art, the unhorsing of someone was often a signifier of a loss of pride and so it is in this case, the prideful Saul being brought low before God.

The scene is packed with activity, the fresco is one of Michelangelo's busier works, the crowds of figures recalling the tightly packed groups of "The Deluge". There are two main groupings; the crowds of earthbound humans surrounding the downed Saul mirror the throng of angels surrounding God.

The figures are slightly exaggerated, this painting anticipates the later, more Mannerist paintings of El Greco and Pontormo; for a painter known for his anatomical precision, this Mannerism is telling: Michelangelo is depicting a story so remarkable, he seems to imply, that standard depictions of the human form won't do the strangeness of the situation justice.

The use of colour is extraordinary, there is a clear delineation between the blues of heaven and the greens of the earth. Michelangelo is using colour to highlight the difference between the earthly and divine, yet the two are linked by the intense yellow of the pulse of light raining down upon Saul.

The intensity and vividness of these hues are something of a departure for the time, and add further weight to the idea that Michelangelo was using this fresco to push at the boundaries of his style and abilities.

With The Conversion of Saul, Michelangelo was cementing his reputation as an innovator at the same time as underlining his abilities as a master of painting; the precision of the brushwork gives him license to take liberties with form and colour. This is the work of a master at the height of his powers.

Conversion of Saul is a fresco sometimes referred to as Conversion of St Paul.

This stunning fresco can now be found at the Cappella Paolina, Vatican Palace in Vatican City.

This painting took Michelangelo in a new direction with a more mannerist approach, underlining his constant desire to try out new techniques. This bold approach unfortunately did not get sufficient support from academics at that time, though, and left this painting being considered below the standard of much of what he had produced earlier in his career.

Art experts of more recent centuries have shown a far greater respect for this painting and the later work of Michelangelo in general, with Mannerist art being seen far differently now than to when it first appeared across the art world.

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