The fine series of frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel at Florence is differently arranged; thus:—1. The tribute money found in the fish by St. Peter. 2. Peter preaching to the converts. 3. Peter baptizes the converts. In this fresco, the youth, who has thrown off his garments and is preparing for baptism, is famous as the first really graceful and well-drawn undraped figure which had been produced since the revival of Art. 4. Peter and John heal the cripple at the Beautiful Gate, and Petronilla is raised from her bed. 5. Peter in his prison is visited by Paul. 6. Peter delivered by the angel. 7. The resuscitation of the dead youth. 8. The sick are laid in the way of Peter and John, ‘that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.’ 9. Peter and John distribute alms; a dead figure lies at the feet of the apostles, perhaps Ananias. The situation of the fresco is very dark, so that it is difficult to distinguish the action and expression of the figures. 10. Peter and Paul accused before Nero. 11. The crucifixion of Peter.
In St. Peter’s at Rome, we have of course every scene from the life of the apostle which could well be expressed by Art; but none of these are of great merit or interest: most of them are from the schools of the seventeenth century.
St. Paul, though called to the apostleship after the ascension of the Saviour, takes rank next to St. Peter as one of the chief witnesses of the Christian faith. Of all the apostles he is the most interesting; the one of whose personal character and history we know most, and through the most direct and irrefragable testimony. The events of his life, as conveyed in the Acts and the Epistles, are so well known, that I need not here particularise them. The legends connected with him are very few.
The earliest single figure of St. Paul to which I can refer was found painted on the walls of the cemetery of Priscilla, near Rome.[196] He stands, with outstretched arms, in the act of prayer; (in the early ages of Christianity the act of supplication was expressed in the classical manner, that is, not with folded hands, but with the arms extended;) he has the nimbus; his dress is that of a traveller, the tunic and pallium being short, and his feet sandalled, perhaps to indicate his many and celebrated travels; perhaps, also, it represents Paul praying for his flock before he departed from Macedon to return to Jerusalem (Acts xx.): over this ancient figure, which, though ill drawn, is quite classical in sentiment and costume, is inscribed PAULUS. PASTOR. APOSTOLOS; on his right hand stands the Good Shepherd, in reference to the title of PASTOR, inscribed over his effigy. Another figure of St. Paul, which appears to be of later date, but anterior to the fifth century, was found in the catacombs at Naples: in this effigy he wears the dress of a Greek philosopher; the style in which the drapery is worn recalls the time of Hadrian: he has no nimbus, nor is the head bald; he has sandals on his feet: over his head is inscribed his name, Paulus; near him is a smaller figure similarly draped, who offers him fruit and flowers in a vase; probably the personage who was entombed on the spot.
At what period the sword was given to St. Paul as his distinctive attribute, is with antiquaries a disputed point; certainly, much later than the keys were given to Peter.[197] If we could be sure that the mosaic on the tomb of Otho II., and another mosaic already described, had not been altered in successive restorations, these would be evidence that the sword was given to St. Paul as his attribute as early as the 6th century; but there are no monuments which can be absolutely trusted as regards the introduction of the sword before the end of the 11th century; since the end of the 14th century, it has been so generally adopted, that in the devotional effigies I can remember no instance in which it is omitted. When St. Paul is leaning on the sword, it expresses his martyrdom; when he holds it aloft, it expresses also his warfare in the cause of Christ: when two swords are given to him, one is the attribute, the other the emblem; but this double allusion does not occur in any of the older representations. In Italy I never met with St. Paul bearing two swords, and the only instance I can call to mind is the bronze statue by Peter Vischer, on the shrine of St. Sebald, at Nuremberg.
Although devotional representations of St. Paul separate from St. Peter and the other apostles occur very rarely, pictures from his life and actions are commonly met with; the principal events are so familiar, that they are easily recognised and discriminated even by the most unlearned in biblical illustration: considered and treated as a series, they form a most interesting and dramatic succession of scenes, often introduced into the old churches; but the incidents chosen are not always the same.
Paul, before his conversion, was present at the stoning of Stephen, and he is generally introduced holding on his knees the garments of the executioners. In some ancient pictures, he has, even while looking on and ‘consenting to the death’ of the victim, the glory round his head, as one who, while ‘breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,’ was already a chosen vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles.’ But in a set of pictures which relate expressly to St. Paul the martyrdom of Stephen is, with proper feeling, omitted, and the series generally begins with the Conversion of Paul,—in his character of apostle, the first great event in his life. An incident so important, so celebrated, and in all its accessories so picturesque and dramatic, has of course been a frequent subject of artistic treatment, even as a separate composition. In some of the old mosaics, the story is very simply, and at the same time vividly, rendered. In the earliest examples, St. Paul has the nimbus or glory while yet unconverted; he is prostrate on the ground, grovelling on his hands and knees; rays of light fall upon him out of heaven, where the figure of Christ, half-length, is seen emerging from glory; sometimes it is a hand only, which is the emblem of the Almighty Power; two or four attendants at most are flying in terror. It is not said in Scripture that St. Paul journeyed on horseback from Jerusalem to Damascus; but the tradition is at least as old as the time of Pope Dalmasius (A.D. 384), as it is then referred to. St. Augustine says he journeyed on foot, because the Pharisees made a point of religion to go on foot, and it is so represented in the old Greek mosaics. The expression, ‘It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,’ has been oddly enough assigned as a reason for placing Paul on horseback;[198] at all events, as he bore a military command, it has been thought proper in later times so to represent him, and also as surrounded by a numerous cortége of attendants. This treatment admits, of course, of endless variety, in the disposition and number of the figures, in the attitudes and expression; but the moment chosen is generally the same.