Artwork
Saint Paul writing
Saint Paul writing is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master with the Parrot. It dates from 1501 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts Saint Paul at a writing desk, absorbed in composing an epistle.
The painting depicts Saint Paul at a writing desk, absorbed in composing an epistle. His traditional attributes, a long beard, bald pate, and receding hairline, identify him, while the open book and quill emphasize his role as an author of the Pauline epistles. A parrot perched above him introduces a symbolic motif: in Christian iconography, parrots can signify both the Word of God and the human capacity for speech, hinting at the transmission of divine revelation through writing.
The inclusion of a longcase clock in the background further underscores the theme of temporal urgency, suggesting the urgency of spreading the Gospel within the span of earthly time.
History & Provenance
The painting Saint Paul writing was created in 1501 by the Master with the Parrot. Executed in oil on panel, the work depicts the apostle writing alongside a longcase clock, a detail noted in its description. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
While some records suggest a broader inception range extending to 1550, the specific date of 1501 is established for the work's creation. No further details regarding the original commission, specific patron, or the chain of ownership prior to its arrival at the Prado are provided in the available sources.
The work is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is catalogued under the accession number P00968. It has been displayed in exhibitions of Spanish Renaissance painting at the museum, including the 2005 exhibition "Pintura española del Renacimiento".
Context
The painting Saint Paul writing attributed to Master with the Parrot was created in 1501 as an oil work on panel and classified within the religious genre. It depicts Saint Paul engaged in writing while a Bible and longcase clock appear in the composition, elements highlighted in scholarly descriptions of the work's biblical narrative context. The piece belongs to the oeuvre of a northern Renaissance artist associated with the Master with the Parrot moniker, a figure linked to the broader circle of Hispano-Flemish painters active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Its inclusion in the collection of the Museo del Prado situates it within a significant institutional framework for the study of Iberian artistic developments, reflecting ongoing scholarly interest in the stylistic and theological dimensions of early Netherlandish-influenced religious painting in Spain.
Overview
Saint Paul Writing is an oil on panel painting created circa 1501, attributed to the Master with the Parrot, a collective name for Flemish painters in Antwerp during the Northern Renaissance.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil paint on panel, the work blends Flemish attention to detail with Italianate influences, characteristic of the Northern Renaissance. The contrast between the dark background and the illuminated figure creates a sense of depth and highlights the subject.
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Artist & collection
Artist
The Master with the Parrot or Master of the Parrot (fl. between 1520 and 1540) is the notname given to a group of Flemish painters who likely worked in a workshop in Antwerp in the first half of the 16th century. They…
