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Source Description
Jacob Jordaens was a prominent artist working in Antwerp in the 17th century. Though influenced in his use of powerful forms and vibrant color by his contemporary, Peter Paul Rubens, Jordaens was notably more realist in his tendencies. This drawing and its companion drawing in the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection (1954.366) are very likely studies for a painting depicting the Conversion of Saint Paul that Jordaens made for the the abbey church at Tongerlo, near Antwerp, in around 1647 (now lost). According to the Bible, in the year following the death of Jesus Christ, Saul of Tarsus (who became Saint Paul) was on the road to Damascus. He was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant light from above, heard the voice of Christ, and became a believer. In this work, Saul appears to have been blinded by the force of Christ's voice and heavenly light. Jordaens used a combination of chalks and wet media such as ink and watercolor to create a swirling mass of bodies bathed in light.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
131791
label
The Conversion of Saul with Christ and the Cross
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
131791
contentType
drawing
title
The Conversion of Saul with Christ and the Cross
description
Jacob Jordaens was a prominent artist working in Antwerp in the 17th century. Though influenced in his use of powerful forms and vibrant color by his contemporary, Peter Paul Rubens, Jordaens was notably more realist in his tendencies. This drawing and its companion drawing in the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection (1954.366) are very likely studies for a painting depicting the Conversion of Saint Paul that Jordaens made for the the abbey church at Tongerlo, near Antwerp, in around 1647 (now lost). According to the Bible, in the year following the death of Jesus Christ, Saul of Tarsus (who became Saint Paul) was on the road to Damascus. He was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant light from above, heard the voice of Christ, and became a believer. In this work, Saul appears to have been blinded by the force of Christ's voice and heavenly light. Jordaens used a combination of chalks and wet media such as ink and watercolor to create a swirling mass of bodies bathed in light.
date
c. 1645–47
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80023384
creators
2824
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 33 x 19.9 cm (13 x 7 13/16 in.)
cul
Flanders
accession
1954.367
Source extras
tec
brush and brown wash, gouache and watercolor over black and red chalk, heightened with traces of white; framing lines in graphite
tombstone
The Conversion of Saul with Christ and the Cross, c. 1645–47. Jacob Jordaens (Flemish, 1593–1678). Brush and brown wash, gouache and watercolor over black and red chalk, heightened with traces of white; framing lines in graphite; sheet: 33 x 19.9 cm (13 x 7 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds, 1954.367
supportMaterials
description
two sheets (joined) of cream(3) laid paper, laid down on beige(1) laid paper
collection
DR - Flemish
inscriptions
inscription
lower right, in brown ink: Jordaens
didYouKnow
In order to create the arch at the top of this sheet, which is almost a foot high, the artist added an additional sheet of paper.
citations
1
citation
Hulst, Roger Adolf d'. De tekeningen van Jakob Jordaens: bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van de XVIIe-eeuwse kunst in de zuidelijke Nederlanden. Brussel: AWlsk, Paleis der academiën, 1956.
page_number
nno. 129, p. 374
2
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 586
3
citation
Roberts-Jones, Philippe, and Leo Van Puyvelde. <em>Le siècle de Rubens.</em> Museés royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique, Bruxelles. 1965.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 306, no. 332
4
citation
Roberts-Jones, Philippe. De eeuw van Rubens. Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, Brussel, 15 oktober-12 december 1965. Brussel: Patrimonium van de Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, 1965.
page_number
no. 332, p. 306
5
citation
Musées royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique. Le siècle de Rubens. [Exposition] Museés royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique, Bruxelles, 15 octobre-12 décembre 1965. 1965.
page_number
no. 332, p. 306
6
citation
Jaffé, Michael. "Jordaens Drawings at Antwerp and Rotterdam." <em>The Burlington Magazine</em> 108, no. 765 (1966): 625-30.
page_number
p. 626
url
www.jstor.org/stable/875111.
7
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. Selected Works: Cleveland Museum of Art. 1967.
page_number
no. 164
8
citation
Jaffé, Michael. <em>Jacob Jordaens 1593-1678.</em> Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1968.
page_number
No. 228, p. 204, p. 368,
9
citation
Logan, Anne-Marie S. Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: <em>Selected Works from American Collections.</em> Wellesley, Mass: Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, 1993.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 171, no. 32.
10
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, Diane DeGrazia, and Carter E. Foster. <em>Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2000.
page_number
Mentioned: cat. no. 73, pp. 176-179, p. 294
11
citation
Francis, Henry S. "The Conversion of St. Paul by Jacob Jordaens Two Drawings in Washes and Chalks." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 44, no. 2 (1957): 19-22.
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25142183.
creditline
Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:47:31.103000
sourceId
131791
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - Flemish
med
brush and brown wash, gouache and watercolor over black and red chalk, heightened with traces of white; framing lines in graphite
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
59f419b33da5371f