(Aelst 1502–1550 Brussels)
Saint Paul preaching at Philippi,
oil on panel, 124 x 170 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Arthur de Heuvel, Brussels, 1978;
where acquired by the present owner

The present work is an intriguing addition to the oeuvre associated with the late workshop practice of the Flemish polymath Pieter Coecke van Aelst. The present painting relates to the monumental tapestry designed by Coecke of Saint Paul Preaching to the Women of Philippi of which a preparatory drawing is conserved in the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, (inv. no. 1929:79). The celebrated tapestry (now hanging in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien) was designed circa 1529 and woven 1535-1540 in Brussels under the direction of Paulus van Oppenem, after Coecke had returned to Antwerp after a journey to the Sublime Porte, as a representative of the Brussels weavers Demoyen to the Turkish Sultan in Istanbul.

Upon close examination, it is evident that the painting is by several hands: the finest of these made at least two of the heads, that of Saint Paul and also of the male figure hugging the tree behind him. A landscape specialist appears to have contributed the background setting. Whether a rich patron was taken with the designs in Coecke’s workshop of Saint Paul Preaching to the Women of Philippi and commissioned a painting from them, or whether the work functioned as a highly decorative ricordo remains the subject of speculation.