ABRAHAM BLOEMAERT (Gorcum, Netherlands, 1564- Utrecht, 1651)."Saint Paul", 1631.Oil on canvas.Signed

ABRAHAM BLOEMAERT (Gorcum, Netherlands, 1564- Utrecht, 1651).
"Saint Paul", 1631.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the upper right corner.
Size: 74.5 x 63 cm; 104 x 93 cm (frame).
In this painting, masterfully worked with firm and material brushstrokes, Abraham Bloemaert presents us St. Paul in the foreground on a neutral background, with his gaze directed towards the front. He is dressed in a dark red tunic, accompanied by the book that identifies him from the beginning and the sword, the instrument of his martyrdom with which he is later recognised, of which only the hilt is visible. Bloemaert presents the saint with great naturalism. The face is the absolute protagonist of the work, magnificently modelled through a skilful use of light and shade, with appropriate contrasts that enhance the plasticity of the features and define the artist as a faithful follower of Caravaggio's aesthetic postulates. The gaze is the focus of our attention, and it is reflected with a veracity typical of a careful study of life, with great drama and a deep mysticism.
A renowned painter and engraver, Bloemaert initially worked in the style of the "Haarlem Mannerists", but in the 16th century he modified his style in accordance with the new Baroque of Caravaggio, becoming an important master of the Utrecht Caravaggists. He was a pupil of Gerrit Splinter, himself a pupil of Frans Floris, and of Joos de Beer. In 1581 he spent three years in Paris, furthering his studies with Jean Cousin the Younger and the Master of Herry. He completed his training at the Ecole de Fontainebleau in an environment dominated by the elegant and sensual models of the French court. On his return to Utrecht in 1611, together with the two other leading painters (Joachim Wtewael and Paulus Moreelse), he was one of the founders of the Guild of Saint Luke in Utrecht, a new painters' guild of which he became dean in 1618. An eclectic and versatile painter, he cultivated all genres of painting, from historical and allegorical subjects to still lifes, portraits and animal paintings. Bloemaert is represented at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Michigan, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, and the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery in The Hague, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minnesota, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Nancy, the Musée de Grenoble, the National Gallery of Canada and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, among many other art galleries.

This work was requested by the Central Museum in Utrecht to be part of the largest retrospective on the artist to date, scheduled for 2001. The owner of the work has the museum's letter of request, sent in 1996 and signed by the curator of painting at the time, Liesbeth M. Helmus.