Conversion of Saul

The Acts of the Apostles never mention a horse. Saul is on the road to Damascus when a light from heaven throws him to the ground, and he gets up blind. Painters gave him a mount, and whoever painted this small copper plate in the first quarter of the 1600s went further, turning the road into a cavalry battle. Riders charge with lances and banners, and a soldier lies face down in the foreground. Near the centre a white horse sinks to its knees while Saul, thrown beside it, opens his arms toward the sky. In the upper corner God leans out of the clouds among cherubs and reaches down toward him. The plate is attributed to Marzio Ganassini, a Roman painter in the circle of the Cavalier d'Arpino. It is in poor condition and was restored in 1907.