
The Conversion of Saint Paul
1601 · Palazzo Odescalchi Balbi, Rome
Caravaggio's first attempt at the subject, turned down by the patron, before he threw out the angels and left one man, one horse and the light.
★ 8.4

Caravaggio's first attempt at the subject, turned down by the patron, before he threw out the angels and left one man, one horse and the light.

One disciple grips his chair to stand and the other throws his arms wide, while a fruit basket teeters off the edge toward us.

Three laborers strain to lever the cross upright with Peter nailed to it upside down. No crowd, no glory, just heavy work in the dark.

The horse and the groom take up most of the canvas and neither notices anything. The miracle happens entirely inside the man on the ground.