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Secondary sourcePainting1527

The Conversion of Saint Paul

Parmigianino · 1527

A Mannerist oil painting by Parmigianino showing Paul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, with a rearing horse.

Depicts the moment of Paul's conversion, the event said to have begun his mission as an apostle.

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A painting of a man with a full beard lying on the ground, one arm raised toward a rearing white horse with a gold-trimmed bridle and a light-filled sky. Green vegetation and a distant hilltop town fill the landscape.
Parmigianino, The Conversion of Saint Paul, 1527. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting on canvas was made in 1527 by the Italian artist Parmigianino. It is now kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Records show it was once owned by a prominent family in Parma before passing through later collections.

Why it matters

The painting depicts the famous story of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, a turning point said to have changed him from a persecutor of Christians into one of Christianity's most important missionaries. Parmigianino's dramatic, twisting composition reflects the Mannerist style popular in 16th-century Italy, showing how artists reinterpreted biblical events for their own time.

Look closer

  • What does the rearing horse add to the feeling of the scene?
  • Why might the artist have chosen this dramatic moment rather than a calmer scene from Paul's life?
  • What does the painting leave out that the biblical story includes?

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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