Saint Paul c. 1460

painting, oil-paint

portrait

painting

oil-paint

sculpture

figuration

oil painting

history-painting

italian-renaissance

portrait art

"Saint Paul" is a tempera painting on panel created around 1460 by Italian artist Vincenzo Foppa. The artwork depicts Saint Paul, a prominent figure in early Christianity, holding a sword and a book, symbolizing his role as a missionary and scholar. Foppa's meticulous attention to detail is evident in the saint's richly patterned garments and the intricate gold leaf background. The painting's realistic portrayal and dramatic composition reflect the artistic advancements of the early Renaissance period, showcasing Foppa's mastery of perspective and light. The artwork, currently housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is a testament to Foppa's skill and enduring influence on Italian painting.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Saint Paul and Saint Sirus are panel paintings likely from the same large altarpiece. Panel painting was a lengthy process that required many steps. The panel is a plank of wood that was prepared with many layers of gesso, a glue-size-chalk substance that forms the white base layer of the paintings. Gesso is also used to create the raised areas, or pastiglia, seen in each painting: the top of staff and edges of the headpiece in Saint Sirus and areas on the hilt of the sword in Saint Paul. Red bole, a size-clay mixture, was added to areas that were to be gilded with gold leaf. The final step was painting the figures in numerous layers of egg tempera, a paint made of ground pigments, water, and egg yolk.