Who painted The Stoning of Saint Stephen?

Bartholomeus Breenbergh painted The Stoning of Saint Stephen in 1632.

What Bible passage does The Stoning of Saint Stephen depict?

The Stoning of Saint Stephen depicts the biblical scene from Acts 7:54-60.

Where is The Stoning of Saint Stephen located?

The Stoning of Saint Stephen is housed at J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles.

The Stoning of Saint Stephen by Bartholomeus Breenbergh

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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.

Details

Artist: Bartholomeus Breenbergh
Created: 1632
Medium: oil on panel
Dimension: 92cm × 67cm
Passage: Acts 7:54-60
Housed at: J. Paul Getty Museum 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles

Found in: Acts, Acts 7, 17th century, Paul, Stephen

Acts 7:54-60

54 Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord.

58 They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

60 He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 7:54-60 · World English Bible

The artist

Bartholomeus Breenbergh

1598 - 1657

Deventer, Netherland

Bartholomeus Breenbergh (before 13 November 1598 – after 3 October 1657) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Italian and Italianate landscapes, in Rome (1619-1630) and Amsterdam (1630-1657).