The Stoning of Saint Stephen Gm-00086301

Bartholomeus Breenbergh (Dutch, 1598–1657) Large Roman ruins loom in the background, against which excited figures engage in a brutal murder. In the shadowy right foreground, Saint Stephen kneels in prayer; behind him a shirtless man takes aim with a large rock. All around, people scurry to pick up rocks to hurl at the defenseless saint. A small boy helps out by bringing stones to the adults.

Bartholomeus Breenberg depicted the martyrdom of the early Christian deacon Stephen, the first Christian martyr. In the left foreground, a man turns to face the viewer and points at the grisly scene before him. Scholars initially thought this was a self-portrait of the artist; they later identified this man as Paul who, before his conversion to Christianity, assisted at Stephen's stoning by guarding the clothes of the executioners.

When Breenberg made this painting, landscape as a genre, and the Dutch Italianate landscape tradition that Breenberg helped develop, was gaining popularity but was not fully accepted as a justifiable subject by itself. Thus, the figures or narrative were often the excuse for painting a landscape.

High Quality Wood Framed Print using museum quality paper and archival inks with a mat for a contemporary look. Comes with Acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Giclee Prints are printed on 250 gsm Matte Paper with the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. The listed size refers to the overall paper dimensions. The image is printed proportionally within this paper size and includes a small white border. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea.