Of the two versions Caravaggio painted of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, this is the one that failed its original commission — rejected by the patron who had ordered it, yet now recognized as the first and more radical of the pair ^[4]. Painted on cypress wood around 1600–1601, it survives in the private Erba-Odescalchi collection in Rome, while the better-known second version hangs in the Cerasi Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo ^[3][4].

A commission rejected: the Cerasi Chapel affair

In September 1600, Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi, Treasurer-General to Pope Clement VIII, commissioned Caravaggio to paint both a Conversion of Saint Paul and a Crucifixion of Saint Peter for his family chapel ^[4]. According to the painter's early biographer Giovanni Baglione, both first versions were rejected by Cerasi and replaced with the second versions that hang in the chapel today ^[4]. The chronology is fixed by Cerasi's death in May 1601, which dates both the completion and the rejection of the originals ^[4]. The rejected canvases were then taken by Cardinal Giacomo Sannessio, though the early writer Giulio Mancini claimed Sannessio's paintings were merely copies — a minority view, as most scholars accept this work as the genuine first version ^[4].

An "odd blend" of Raphael and rustic realism

The painting records the moment when Saul, en route to Damascus to persecute Christians, is struck blind by a heavenly light and hears the voice of Christ: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 22:6–11) ^[4]. Paul's later claim to have seen Christ in a vision — "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (I Corinthians 9:1) — grounds his apostolic authority, and it is this visionary encounter that Caravaggio renders ^[4]. Caravaggio biographer Helen Langdon described the style as:

"an odd blend of Raphael and clumsy rustic realism,"

adding that the composition's jagged shapes and irrational light, which picks out details for their dramatic impact, create "a sense of crisis and dislocation" ^[4]. This is Caravaggio's signature tenebrism — figures transfixing in bright shafts of light against deep shadow, a technique he made a dominant stylistic element ^[1].

Provenance

Owner / Event	Date
Commissioned by Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi	September 1600
Rejected by Cerasi; taken by Cardinal Giacomo Sannessio (per Baglione)	c. 1601
Erba-Odescalchi collection, Rome	present day

The work remains in the private Odescalchi Balbi collection, making it less accessible than its public counterpart in the Cerasi Chapel ^[4].

The companion work: Crucifixion of Saint Peter

The rejected Conversion was painted as a pair with a Crucifixion of Saint Peter, also commissioned by Cerasi and also replaced ^[4]. Both first versions share the same fate: rejected by the patron, taken by Sannessio, and ultimately separated — the Conversion now in the Erba-Odescalchi collection, while the second versions remain in situ in the Cerasi Chapel ^[4].

Frequently asked questions

Why are there two versions of Caravaggio's Conversion of Saint Paul?

Caravaggio painted at least two versions of the subject. The first, commissioned by Tiberio Cerasi in September 1600, was rejected by the patron and replaced with a second version that hangs in the Cerasi Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo ^[4].

Where is the first version of the painting today?

The rejected first version is housed in the Odescalchi Balbi private collection in Rome ^[4]. Its dimensions are 237 × 189 cm ^[3].

Who took the painting after it was rejected?

According to Caravaggio's early biographer Giovanni Baglione, the rejected paintings were taken by Cardinal Giacomo Sannessio, although the writer Giulio Mancini claimed Sannessio's paintings were copies ^[4].