GHERARDI, Cristofano
(b. 1508, Borgo San Sepolcro, d. 1556, Firenze)

Conversion of St Paul

1555
Fresco
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

The Company of Jesus commissioned from Vasari a cycle of frescoes for their own oratory in Cortona. (This oratory is now part of the Museo Diocesano.) The cycle, seen in the twelve lunettes on the walls, was intended to show the sacrifices offered by characters of the Old Testament, one on each wall. The cycle ends with the representation on the vault of three episodes from the New Testament, connecting the theme of the transition from the Old to the New Testament. These episodes depict the Transfiguration, the Descent in Limbo, and the Conversion of St Paul.