Saint Paul Preaching in Athens 1733

Giovanni Paolo Panini created this drawing, Saint Paul Preaching in Athens, using pen and gray wash, over graphite. Panini, who lived from 1691 to 1765, was an Italian painter and architect who worked primarily in Rome. Here, Panini imagines Saint Paul standing before the pillars of the ancient world, preaching Christianity to the people of Athens. It seems that the artist looked to the past to interpret the present. In eighteenth-century Europe, the study of classical art and culture held significant cultural capital. Consider the power of the architecture in this image, and how the figures are arranged below the archway. This staging suggests a hierarchy, a clear and gendered power structure with Saint Paul at the top. This drawing asks us to reflect on how religious, cultural, and political beliefs can be disseminated and interpreted in societies, and how these ancient structures act as a stage for new ideas.