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Secondary sourcePaintingc. 1619

Saint Paul

Diego Velázquez · c. 1619

An early portrait by Diego Velázquez showing Paul as a weathered man holding a book, painted around 1619.

An early portrait imagining Paul holding his Gospel book rather than the sword of his martyrdom.

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Painting of an elderly bearded man with grey-white beard and dark, tousled hair, wearing a brownish-olive cloak over a red garment. He rests his clasped hands on a reddish book or board. Dark background with the inscription 'S. PAVLVS' at upper left.
Diego Velázquez, Saint Paul, c. 1619. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting was created by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez around 1619, early in his career, and is held today at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. An inscription in the upper corner identifies the figure as 'S. PAVLVS', Latin for Saint Paul.

Why it matters

The work shows Velázquez's early style, shaped by the dramatic lighting of Caravaggio. Instead of the usual sword associated with Paul's martyrdom, the painter gives him a large book, symbolizing his role as a writer and spreader of the Christian faith. Some historians believe this painting may have been part of a lost series of the twelve apostles.

Look closer

  • Why might Velázquez have chosen a book instead of a sword to represent Paul?
  • What mood does the dark background and dramatic light create?
  • What details suggest the painter wanted a realistic, rather than an idealized, figure?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Paul on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a manuscript page with about twenty lines of handwritten Latin in a medieval-style hand, with a small decorative heading at the top. Some lines have large initial letters and flourishes.Letter

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Engraving of an elderly bearded man with a halo, wearing a draped robe and holding an open book, standing beside a wall with a sword at his feet. Dated 1514 with the AD monogram. Black and white.Painting

Secondary source

Saint Paul

Albrecht Dürer · 1514

Page 300 of the 1848 Prekmurian New Testament, headed 'Szvétoga Pavla Apostola I. K Korinthusánczom Piszani Liszt' with two columns of Prekmurian Slovene text, chapter 1 verses 1 to 13.Letter

Secondary source

First Epistle to the Corinthians

Paul the Apostle · c. 54 AD

Scan of a fragmentary papyrus leaf with faded brown Greek uncial-style text in columns, with torn and missing sections. It is a manuscript of 1 Corinthians 7:33-8:4, not chapter 13.Book

Primary source

1 Corinthians 13

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 53-57

Colored 1879 map titled 'Map Illustrating the Travels of St. Paul' by H.H. Hardesty, showing the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Egypt and the Holy Land with routes marked in lines and numbered journeys.Document

Secondary source

Map Illustrating the Travels of St. Paul

H.H. Hardesty · 1879

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