Religion Concepts in Michelangelo Caravaggio’s Artwork 'The Conversion of St. Paul'

Metaphysical concepts of Religion, death and life are explored throughout art history by the classical masters and by new leading artists, represented through intense chiaroscuro and colour. Three differing works that cover these notions are Michelangelo Caravaggio’s The Conversion of St. Paul (1601), Francisco José de Goya’s The Third of May 1808 (1814) and Bill Viola’s An Ocean Without a Shore (2007). In this essay I will pay attention to Michelangelo Caravaggio artworks. 

Caravaggio lived in a world Dominated by the Counter Reformation, under heavy influence by the Catholic Church during the Renaissance, in the art style of the Baroque, of which he was a key figure in. He was one of the most influential and successful painters of the 17th century. The Conversion of St. Paul is a work typical to the art made during the Counter-Reformation in Italy. The Counter-Reformation war the reformation made in the Catholic Church, such as the proper education of priests in the spiritual life and theological traditions of the church, as well as a focus on the devotional life and having a personal relationship with God, somewhat adopting the notions and beliefs of Renaissance Humanism. He was a pioneer and innovator for the baroque style and his religious paintings were unique, original and unconventional for his time. He used strong religious narratives and is renowned for his use of intense chiaroscuro and realism. Caravaggio was a strong believer of unstinted realism and reflected the reality of life, painting in great detail that many others idolised, such as dirt on fingernails and feet. He scorned the idealized figure and instead took his models from the street and used them to model the dynamic of reality in a truthful way. Over his career, Caravaggio was criticised and critiqued for his unsophisticated techniques, indecorous naturalism and overly dramatic techniques, however, Caravaggio’s ability to depict religious scenes with unseen originality and his ability to express human feelings and sentiment in his artwork made him and integral and invaluable inspiration for artists through the ages.

Caravaggio painted The Conversion of St. Paul with oil paints and a canvas that was fairly big - not as big as Goya’s, creating an impressive and somewhat daunting depiction. He painted for the alters of the new churches built during the Counter Reformation, and hence his works depicted highly religious scenes. Caravaggio uses glazing (a technique of many layers of oil paint that create a soft glowing aesthetic that was very popular in the baroque and renaissance times) and zinc white to build up intensity of the light tones. Caravaggio’s use of chiaroscuro creates a dramatic and theatrical illusion of the scene, which he uses to focus out attention on the important aspects of the scene, Saul’s arms reaching up to the light, the horses’ hoof ready to strike. The intense contrast of the shadows and light cause the drama to heighten, which is also added to by the lightening bolt shaped horse’s leg and massive shoulder, poised above the enraptured Saul, ready to strike. Furthermore, the unsymmetrical composition of the artwork and Saul’s concaved form brings about a restless energy, further exciting and making anxious the viewer.

Caravaggio also uses the universally recognised symbol of Christ, light, in his work to portray the all-powerful and divine nature of God. Caravaggio uses the light on God to symbolise the eternal life given to those who follow him, ad seeing the way, the truth and the light (God was often considered to be light itself). Saul’s surrender to the light is represented through his body being enveloped in the divine power, and his experience is clearly one unnoticed by the stable hand/servant, suggesting further the idea reinforced by the Counter Reformation of one’s personal connection to God. Furthermore, the lightening shape of the horse’s leg has connotations of the God of lightening, Zeus, the Ancient Greek ruler of the sky, and could hence therefore be interpreted as God having the ability to strike down Saul, but also having the mercy to spare him and save him from his own ignorance of divinity. 

In addition, Caravaggio’s use of the contrasting light and dark, as well as the composition of Saul on the ground, reaching to the light emphasises the fragility of humans and their need for the all-powerful God. This was intentionally done as this work was to be placed above an alter, and reminds society of their need to rely and be devoted to God and the Catholic Church.