Christ, St. Paul, and the Twelve Apostles (c. 1578): Art, History and Details

Christ, St. Paul, and the Twelve Apostles (c. 1578) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617); Hans Collaert the Elder (Flemish, 1520–1581); Unknown Engraver (Netherlandish); Maarten de Vos (Flemish, 1532–1603).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This print series features thirteen engravings depicting Christ and the Apostles (Christ’s primary disciples). In each scene, an apostle is shown in the foreground, with architecture and landscape behind him that indicate the locales in which he preached Christ’s message, from Rome to India. In the middle ground of each print, the apostle’s martyrdom is enacted with multiple figures, while the party responsible for his death—be it king, idol, or devil—looks on. Martyrdom was tied to sainthood in Roman Catholic theology, and martyrdoms appeared frequently in art made after 1563, when the Catholic Church declared that religious art should create empathetic, personal connections to the saints.

Object facts

• Title: Christ, St. Paul, and the Twelve Apostles
• Date: c. 1578
• Creator attribution: Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617); Hans Collaert the Elder (Flemish, 1520–1581); Unknown Engraver (Netherlandish); Maarten de Vos (Flemish, 1532–1603)
• Culture: Netherlands, 16th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: Thirteen engravings
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2019.180

A detail from the museum

In the late 16th century, viewing an image of a saint’s martyrdom was meant to create a personal connection to the saint.

Collection credit

Carole W. and Charles B. Rosenblatt Endowment Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Hirschmann, O. Verzeichnis des graphischen Werks von Hendrick Goltzius. Leipzig, 1921

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.