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Lodovico Carracci

The Conversion of Saint Paul

1587/89
Pen and iron-gall ink, with brush and iron-gall ink wash, heightened with white oil paint, over traces of black chalk, on laid paper prepared with a brown oil wash, laid down on paper
55 × 33.5 cm (21.7 × 13.2 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This large and elaborate study for an altarpiece (illustrated below) in the Church of San Francesco in the Italian city of Bologna rivals the final painting in its ambition. The artist invented a mixed pen-and-oil technique to evoke in his drawings the kind of spectacular contrasts between light and dark characteristic of his paintings. The drawing’s bold technique and sharply opposing diagonals generate a drama of centrifugal force as Saint Paul, struck by a flash of light, falls from his rearing horse and soldiers rush to his rescue.

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