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Overview
Born in the city of Leiden, Lucas van Leyden was the first Dutch engraver to achieve wide acclaim in his lifetime. He made about 200 prints, mostly engravings, but also woodcuts and a few etchings. He met Albrecht Dürer in 1521 during the German artist's year-long visit to the Netherlands, and Dürer drew Lucas's portraits and bought a set of his prints. It is likely that van Leyden simultanously acquired some of Dürer's prints, as his influence is evident in Lucas's work in the early 1520s.
This print, the third in a series of 14, dates from much earlier. Lucas was a child prodigy artist, and this impressive series, made when he was just 16, shows no signs of immaturity. In 1845, the pioneering Anglo-Irish art historian and iconographer Anna Jameson described it as 'magnificent in point of feeling'. Each figure is depicted isolated against a plain background and with his attributes. This print shows the Apostle Paul holding a sword with its tip on the ground, probably alluding to his background as a Roman soldier and Christian persecutor, although it could also refer to his martyrdom. In his left he holds a book which alludes to the Gospel which Paul taught to the first-century world. Fourteen of the 27 books in the New Testament have been traditionally attributed to him. The sagacious, senior air to Paul in Lucas's depiction is in line with this.
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvator_Mundi
David Maskill, 'Lucas van Leyden 1494-1533 Netherlands', in William McAloon (ed.), Art at Te Papa (Wellington, 2009), p. 26.
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art January 2017