Beheading of Saint Paul

Outside the walls of Rome, before the city gate, the sentence is being carried out. The setting is identified by the pyramid, the tomb of the praetor Caius Cestius (12 BC), near the Gate of Saint Paul. In the foreground appears the body of the saint, fallen backwards from a kneeling position, his hands bound behind him and his head severed; blood pours from his neck. On the ground are three large bloodstains and hollows, formed at the beheading of Saint Paul, from which springs burst forth. According to legend, the head of the Apostle Paul cried out the name of Jesus three times; his final words can be read beside the hollows: Gesù (“Jesus”). On the right, the executioner in a yellow tunic is placing his sword back into its scabbard. Around him, Roman soldiers with shields and spears hold back the crowd approaching from the left.

(Prokopp Mária, 1993)

Provenance

Arnold Ipolyi’s purchase from the Ramboux estate in Cologne, 1867

Bibliography

• Gerevich Tibor: Esztergomi Műkincsek, in Prímás Album, Budapest 1928,179-263.
• Magyarország műemléki topográfiája I. Esztergom 1. Esztergom műemlékei.összeállította: Genthon István, Budapest, 1948.
• Mucsi András: Az esztergomi Keresztény Múzeum Régi Képtárának katalógusa. Budapest, 1975, 36;
• Boskovits Miklós: Korai olasz táblaképek, Budapest, 1966, 37;
• Boskovits Miklós-Mojzer Miklós-Mucsi András: Az esztergomi Keresztény Múzeum képtára. Budapest, 1964, 44;
• Cséfalvay Pál, szerk.: Keresztény Múzeum, Esztergom. Budapest, 1993. 221, kat.sz. 83. (Prokopp Mária)
• Fehm, Sherwood A. Jr.: Luca di Tömmé. Southern Illinois University, 1986.,136;
• Torriti, Pietro: La Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena. Genova, 1977, 159-160;
• De Benedictis, C.: La pittura sienese 1330-1370. Firenze, 1979, 87-89;
• H. Kress Collection. London, 1966, 61;
• Shapley, F. R.: Italian Paintings X III-X V Century. Complete Catalogue of the Sámuel