Pier Francesco Sacchi, 'Saint Paul Writing', 1520s

In this altarpiece, Saint Paul is depicted with reed pen poised, gazing at the crucified Christ for inspiration. The Greek text he is writing is from his first Epistle to the Corinthians (13: 4): ‘Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up’. His attribute, the sword by which he was martyred, rests against the table. He is represented three-quarter length with his body facing half to the right and his head almost in profile.

Through the open window we see a river valley, stretching into the distance past a town to far-off blue mountains. A barefoot pilgrim with holes in the knees of his trousers, his pack slung from his staff and his flask at his side, passes along the road, while in the distance another figure approaches the city gate. The figure of Christ on the Cross is set above this landscape against the cloudless blue sky. The shape of the Crucifix echoes the cross of the sword beneath it.

Saint Paul’s face and hands are precisely observed and were clearly painted from a model – every crease and wrinkle around his eyes and forehead and each bone and tendon in his neck has been carefully recorded, revealing not only Sacchi’s acute powers of observation but also his understanding of anatomy. The still life of objects on the table – the black ink pot, carved lectern and leather-bound book – have been precisely drawn and painted with the same attention to detail as the figure of the saint. The saturated jewel-like palette of red, blue and green in their purest forms adds to the sense that this oil painting, with its minute attention to detail, decorative quality and clarity of focus, resembles a precious manuscript illumination.

Sacchi’s interest in the art of antiquity is reflected in the relief of winged putti leading a ram on the lectern (a classical motif used to symbolise Christ’s sacrifice) and in the faces in profile on the base of the Crucifix, which are drawn from Milanese decorative sources. His detailed, sharply delineated, naturalistic – almost hyperreal – style reveals an attention to and regard for Northern European painting. The close observation of natural history – with plants, animals and reptiles minutely depicted – is another characteristic of his work, which takes up influences and figurative sources derived from Lombardy, Liguria and Flanders.

This altarpiece is very similar in style and character to the Four Doctors of the Church (Louvre, Paris), which is signed by Sacchi and dated to 1516. However, Saint Paul Writing is a late work, probably dating from the 1520s; Sacchi died of plague in Albaro, just east of Genoa, in 1528.