The Conversion of St. Paul

Lucas van Leyden

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In a tiny vignette in the left background, Lucas depicted the dramatic moment when Saul of Tarsus (Saint Paul), on a journey to Damascus to arrest the followers of Christ, is confronted by God, who strikes him blind. In this extraordinary print, the artist chose to focus on a less traditional but more emotionally poignant and human aspect of the story. Saul, now blind, is shown in the foreground, his head bowed as he continues on his way to Damascus, helplessly leaning against his companions for guidance. The busy horizontal procession, in front of a peculiar rocky outcropping and under a partially defined sky, full of exotic gesticulating figures who animatedly discuss the event, indicates Lucas' familiarity with Martin Schongauer's engraving Christ Carrying the Cross (35.27). Yet, in contrast to Schongauer's work of about three decades earlier, Lucas invites viewers into the composition rather than confronting them with it. In addition, his style is marked by a shallow engraving line, which, when printed, produces an overall soft, atmospheric, and flowing tone.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art